Senior Data Scientist, Safety Evaluation

Waymo is an autonomous driving technology company with a mission to make it safe and easy for people and things to get where they’re going. Since our start as the Google Self-Driving Car Project in 2009, Waymo has been focused on building the Waymo Driver—The World’s Most Experienced Driver™—to improve everyone's access to mobility while saving thousands of lives now lost to traffic crashes. Our Waymo Driver powers Waymo One, our fully autonomous ride-hailing service, as well as Waymo Via, our trucking and local delivery service. To date, Waymo has driven over 20 million miles autonomously on public roads across 25 U.S. cities and conducted over 20 billion miles of simulation testing.

At Waymo, we are mission-driven and believe deeply in the opportunity of autonomous driving technology to improve mobility and make people's lives better. We are united by purpose and responsibility (for our employees and riders alike). We are looking for kind, committed, employees who have integrity, dream big, work together as one team and create a sense of belonging for one another that is the foundation of our culture. We want each team member to feel welcomed and included in every step of our exciting journey.

Data, machine learning, and statistical models play a critical role in building the Waymo Driver and in evaluating its performance. Waymo data scientists work with engineering and ensure quality reasoning and validation about data and models in our production systems. We help our partner teams interpret data in the face of statistical uncertainty, and systematic biases.

The Safety Evaluation team stands as the gatekeepers of safety, weaving expertise in data analysis and robust validation into the very fabric of our autonomous driving systems. We collaborate closely with engineers to ensure the evaluation of ML-heavy-systems rests on a foundation of safety principles. Our expertise seeps into every layer of our safety-critical systems, ensuring each decision made by our vehicles is rooted in rigorous analysis. Our work extends beyond assessment, venturing into the realm of innovation as we craft novel ML techniques uniquely tailored to the complexities of collision evaluation. Ultimately, our team paves the way for safer roads and a future where Waymo diver glides effortlessly through the complexities of the real world. You will report to our Manager of Safety Evaluation Data Science.

As a Senior Data Scientist specializing in Safety Evaluation at Waymo, you'll play a critical role in ensuring the safety and reliability of autonomous vehicles. Your responsibilities will span the entire spectrum of data analysis, model development, and evaluation. While each day at Waymo is different, your primary responsibilities will include:

• Develop safety evaluation frameworks that are critical to ML model improvements.
• Design and implement robust data analysis pipelines and validation frameworks.
• Develop and apply statistical methods and ML models to analyze historical/simulation data and assess safety performance.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams like Simulation and Planning to ensure comprehensive safety evaluation across the autonomous driving system.

At a minimum we'd like you to have:

• PhD in a quantitative field (IE Statistics, Mathematics, Physics)
• 3+ years of industry experience solving large-scale complex problems
• Proven expertise using advanced statistical methods (e.g., ML models, hypothesis testing, causal analysis)
• Ability to interpret and work with data in the presence of ambiguity (e.g., confounding factors, data sparsity or quality challenges)
• Demonstrated knowledge of Python/SQL/R data analysis libraries and packages
• Ability to take ambiguous and complex business requirements and propose a technical solution

It's preferred if you also have:

• Experience solving problems related to Autonomous Driving
• Experience in adjacent relevant areas like Advanced Machine Learning (Deep Learning and Diffusion models), Traffic Modeling, Safety Evaluation or Prediction
• Hands-on experience with Google infra tools like PLX, Borg, GCL, etc

While at Waymo, you will enjoy benefits that cover…

Health and wellness: Our people are at the heart of everything we do. At Waymo, you can enjoy top-notch medical, dental and vision insurance, mental wellness support, a Flexible Spending Account (FSA), a Health Saving Account (HSA), and special wellness programs.

Financial wellness: Your financial peace of mind is important to us. At Waymo, we offer competitive compensation, bonus opportunities, equity, a generous 401(k) plan, 1-on-1 financial coaching, a 529 College Savings Plan and lots of other perks and employee discounts.

Flexibility and time off: Take the time you need to relax and recharge. Enjoy the flexibility to work from another location for four weeks per year. We support an on-site or hybrid work model and offer remote working opportunities, paid time off, bereavement, sick, and parental leave.

Supporting families: When it comes to growing your family or caring for your loved ones, you have our full support. Enhanced leave options include paid parental leave (birthing parent gets 24 weeks of paid leave with up to 4 weeks of additional leave before their due date, and non-birthing parent gets 18 weeks of paid leave), and 20 days of subsidized backup childcare or adult/elder care.. Access to fertility care or adoption support as you grow your family.

Community and personal development: At Waymo, you'll find a range of opportunities to grow, connect, and give back. We offer education reimbursement, personal and professional development, mentorship, and other ways to connect through Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), other internal groups, and even time off to volunteer.

Cool perks: Access to Google offices, cafes, wellness centers, massages, and so much more. To support your wellbeing at home, you can enjoy at-home fitness and cooking classes, and more.

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

$192,000—$243,000 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 waymo-candidatesupport@google.com. (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.)