Motion Systems Engineer, Actuators

Waymo is an autonomous driving technology company with the mission to be the world's most trusted driver. Since its start as the Google Self-Driving Car Project in 2009, Waymo has focused on building the Waymo Driver—The World's Most Experienced Driver—to improve access to mobility while saving thousands of lives now lost to traffic crashes. The Waymo Driver powers Waymo One, a fully autonomous ride-hailing service, and can also be applied to a range of vehicle platforms and product use cases. The Waymo Driver has provided over one million rider-only trips, enabled by its experience autonomously driving tens of millions of miles on public roads and tens of billions in simulation across 13+ U.S. states.

Waymo's Systems Engineering team works together to blend software and hardware systems in groundbreaking new ways. We set the high performance standards that ensure our vehicles run smoothly and keep passengers safe, then design and perform the tests that validate that performance. We're looking for talented teammates who'll help us maintain strong teamwork and are passionate about driving results.

In this role, you will report to a Systems Engineering Manager.

You Will

• Create and manage motion control actuator requirements for braking, steering and/or propulsion through the full requirement life cycle
• Drive architecture discussions focusing on motion control performance, fault tolerance and reliability
• Evaluate electrical, mechanical and software architecture of the motion control system, and contribute to hardware and software design reviews
• Coordinate motion control actuator integration to the self-driving system from prototype development to fleet deployment
• Investigate field issues and bugs with both internal and external partners
• Sign-off motion control actuators for driverless operation via a variety of testing and analyses
• Required travel may include travel to Waymo partners to support requirement implementation or to Waymo test sites to support requirement verification

You Have

• 10+ years of experience developing and integrating complex, safety-critical systems in the automotive, autonomous vehicle, aerospace, robotics, or related industries, with a focus on vehicle motion controls, ADAS features, or the underlying electromechanical hardware
• Demonstrated ownership of the system-level architecture/requirements, performance, or control strategy for safety-critical motion control systems such as automotive steer-by-wire, ADAS features, aerospace flight control actuators, or robotic joint controllers
• Bachelor's Degree in a relevant Engineering or a related field (including ME, EE, CS, Robotics, Controls, Aerospace, etc.) or equivalent practical experience
• SW development experience (including C/C++, Python, or MATLAB)
• Strong foundation in system engineering principles such as requirements definition, formal verification and validation methods, and simulation

We Prefer

• Experience developing and integrating systems for high-autonomy vehicles, particularly L4 self-driving platforms where fail-operational behavior is required.
• A proven ability to connect detailed, physics-based engineering decisions (e.g., component-level trade-offs) to high-level system performance and safety goals
• Experience analyzing system reliability and performance with a statistical, fleet-level mindset, considering factors like component degradation and environmental variation over millions of miles
• Proven experience in technical supplier management, including authoring Statements of Work (SOW) or Requirement Specifications, leading technical design reviews, and managing deliverables for safety-critical components
• Experience working within standard automotive development and production release processes, especially for ECUs and firmware

The expected base salary range for this full-time position across US locations is listed below. Actual starting pay will be based on job-related factors, including exact work location, experience, relevant training and education, and skill level. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for the role location or, if the role can be performed remote, the specific salary range for your preferred location, during the hiring process.

Waymo employees are also eligible to participate in Waymo’s discretionary annual bonus program, equity incentive plan, and generous Company benefits program, subject to eligibility requirements.

Salary Range

$196,000—$248,000 USD