Director, Systems Engineering

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 reports to the Vice President of Systems Engineering.

You will:

• Lead an exemplary team of Systems Engineers to ensure the performance of the Sensing and Perception systems by specifying requirements, conducting analyses and informing architectural decisions




• Decompose critical use cases into actionable and useful requirements for individual sensors, the sensing system, and the perception system.


• Conduct analyses to determine the required performance levels of various sensing and perception tasks


• Conduct trade studies to inform architectural decisions that inform hardware and/or software architecture


• Work closely with Systems Test Engineering teams to ensure that verification strategies and results have sufficiently established that critical requirements are met




• Build and enhance the existing team




• Actively mentor individual contributors and managers to excel in their roles


• Proactively recruit, hire and on-board “best in industry” engineers to expand the team’s capabilities


• Create a team environment that allows team members to thrive personally and professionally




• Establish innovative approaches to tackle deep technical challenges in the complex hardware and software systems required for autonomous driving


• Collaborate deeply with engineering leaders across Waymo to guide Waymo’s prioritization and to refine your team’s deliverables

You have:

• 5 or more years direct management experience, with a demonstrated ability to grow and lead high performing teams


• 10 or more years engineering experience with demonstrated delivery of systems for internal or external milestones


• Bachelor's Degree in relevant Engineering or related field (including ME, EE, CS, Robotics, Controls, Aerospace, etc.) or equivalent practical experience

We prefer:

• Deep technical knowledge of state of the art ML techniques that power modern perception systems


• Deep technical knowledge of multiple sensing modalities (e.g. cameras, radar, lidar)


• Strong foundation in system engineering fundamentals such as requirements definition, formal verification and validation methods


• SW development experience (including C/C++, Python)


• 3+ years Experience managing teams from 10-50 engineers, including managing managers

Travel requirements (if applicable):

• Minimal travel required