Staff Software Engineer, Collision Avoidance Testing

Mountain View, CA, USA; San Francisco, CA, USA Autonomous Vehicles Full-time $251k to $310k Posted Nov 4, 2026
Apply on Waymo (opens in a new tab) Sourced via careers.withwaymo.com · Posted 2026-11-04

About this role

Waymo is hiring a Staff Software Engineer, Collision Avoidance Testing, full-time, on-site in Mountain View, CA, USA; San Francisco, CA, USA, in the Autonomous Vehicles sector.

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’s fully autonomous ride-hail service and can also be applied to a range of vehicle platforms and product use cases. The Waymo Driver has provided over ten million rider-only trips, enabled by its experience autonomously driving over 100 million miles on public roads and tens of billions in simulation across 15+ 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.

This role follows a hybrid work schedule and you will report to Systems Engineering Leadership.

You will:

  • Architect software and design systems that enable scalable and maintainable testing of autonomous vehicle collision avoidance capabilities
  • Establish strategic technical partnerships with the simulation team to co-design well-defined and extensible APIs
  • Integrate, test, and validate the latest state of the art simulation technologies with our collision avoidance testing framework
  • Develop new tools and capabilities to automate test quality and performance
  • Mentor more junior engineers

You have:

  • BS in Computer Science or a related field
  • 10+ years of experience in Software Engineering
  • Demonstrated ability to design robust, scalable, and maintainable software architectures and APIs
  • Strong C++ and Python coding skills
  • Technical leadership skills, with the ability to drive strategy, influence across teams, and mentor other engineers

We prefer:

  • Master’s degree or PhD in Computer Science or a related field
  • Experience in autonomous vehicles or robotics
  • Experience with simulation systems

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 $251,000 — $310,000 USD

Description from Waymo's official posting. Always confirm details on the company careers page.

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About Waymo

Waymo

Alphabet-backed autonomous driving company operating commercial robotaxi service in Phoenix, San Francisco, LA, and Austin.

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Larry Sherwood Jr.

About Larry Sherwood Jr.

Talent Acquisition Leader specializing in mobility, EV, and frontier tech. 1,200+ hires across roles ranging from production technicians to VPs, including 48 hires for the AFEELA U.S. launch at Sony Honda Mobility (98% offer acceptance, about $1.5M in agency fees avoided). SHRM-CP certified. Build recruiting functions from scratch, no agencies.

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Curated by Larry Sherwood Jr. on the free Mobility Jobs board. Pulled nightly from company applicant tracking systems. Apply directly on the source link above to be considered.