Senior Research Scientist, Foundation Model for Simulation

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.

The mission of the Waymo Applied Research team is to develop machine learning solutions addressing open problems in autonomous driving, towards the goal of the safely operating Waymo vehicles in dozens of cities and under all driving conditions. As part of our work, we also initiate and foster collaborations with other research teams in Alphabet.

In this hybrid role you will report to a Director of Research.

You will:

• Conduct applied foundation model research and development

• Design compelling experiments by training and evaluating large deep learning models

• Present results to peers and leadership

• Write high quality code, unit tests, and documentation

You have:

• Masters or PhD in deep learning in behavior and agent modeling or simulation

• Proficiency in Python

• 3+ years of experience with modern deep learning frameworks. Prefer JAX or TensorFlow 2; however, Pytorch is acceptable.

We prefer:

Experience with:

• Generative modeling
• LLMs or VLMs (e.g., Gemini, Llama, GPT)
• Post-training, incl. reinforcement learning
• Distillation
• Transformer models
• Autoencoders and embeddings

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

$204,000-$259,000 USD

We appreciate your interest in Waymo. Waymo is an equal employment opportunity employer, committed to maintaining a supportive and inclusive workplace for all employees. Waymo does not discriminate against, and prohibits harassment of, any applicant or employee based on race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, age, disability, military status, genetic information or any other basis protected by applicable law. Waymo will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal records in accordance with applicable law. Waymo is committed to ensuring equal opportunity for qualified individuals with disabilities. If you are an individual with a disability and require an accommodation to participate in the application or interview process, please let the recruiting team know or email .... (This email address is intended to be used only for requesting accommodations as part of the application process. Other inquiries will not receive a response.)