Systems Engineering Lead, New Product Initiatives

Mountain View, CA, USA; San Francisco, CA USA Autonomous Vehicles Full-time $272k to $336k Posted Aug 6, 2026
Apply on Waymo (opens in a new tab) Sourced via careers.withwaymo.com · Posted 2026-08-06

About this role

Waymo is hiring a Systems Engineering Lead, New Product Initiatives, 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:

  • Lead cross-functional strategies to accelerate development for new product initiatives
  • Translate new, complex use cases into actionable system requirements
  • Execute trade studies and investigation to influence cross-functional priorities and product roadmaps
  • Partner with Systems Engineering and Test teams to develop and execute robust verification strategies that demonstrate critical requirements are met
  • Innovate solutions for technical challenges within integrated hardware and software autonomous systems, covering the full day-in-the-life
  • Define concept of operations for new product initiatives

You have:

  • Bachelor's Degree in relevant Engineering or related field (including ME, EE, CS, Robotics, Controls, Aerospace, etc.) or equivalent practical experience
  • 10 or more years of engineering experience with demonstrated delivery of hardware / software integrated vehicle or robotic systems
  • Experience across full product lifecycle, from concept or pilot through transition into operations in a fast paced environment
  • Strong foundation in systems engineering fundamentals such as requirements definition, formal verification and validation methods
  • Data analysis and related script development skills (e.g. using Python, SQL, etc)
  • Cross-functional technical leadership and mentorship

We prefer:

  • Advanced Degree in relevant Engineering or related field
  • Experience testing and deploying production-level safety critical systems, especially at scale
  • Experience influencing product strategy and user flows through iterative launches
  • Although not the focus of this role, some software development experience and understanding of SW development process is helpful
  • Autonomous vehicle industry experience

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 $272,000 — $336,000 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. 1,000+ 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, $1.5M+ agency savings). SHRM-CP certified. Build recruiting functions from scratch, no agencies.

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