Staff Technical Lead Manager, ML Sensor Validation

About the role

You will lead and build a team of ML engineers dedicated to reliable sensing anomaly detection and calibration for the Waymo Driver. You will build a data flywheel that automatically generates suitable training data for rare instance sensor degradation events using vision language models. You will own the entire sensor validation stack end to end, ensuring robustness across the full sensor suite. You will drive and accelerate collaborations between perception, system engineering, evaluation, and Alphabet research teams. In this hybrid remote/in-office role, you will report to a Senior Staff TLM and work on one of the world's most experienced autonomous driving systems. Your work will directly improve the safety and reliability of a fleet that has provided over ten million rider-only trips.

Key facts

What you'll do

Lead and build a team of ML engineers in charge of reliable sensing anomaly detection and calibration.

Build a data flywheel to automatically generate suitable training data for rare instance sensor degradation events using VLMs.

Own the entire sensor validation stack end to end, from data ingestion to deployment.

Drive and accelerate collaborations between perception, system engineering, evaluation, and Alphabet teams.

Process data from next-generation sensors on next-generation vehicle platforms.

Work closely with both hardware and software teams to provide the best possible sensor data to upstream customers.

Develop sensor data alignment and calibration algorithms for evolving sensor modalities.

Deploy sensor health and validation systems into the Waymo Driver and our log processing backend.

Monitor sensor performance continuously to ensure consistent operation across diverse environments.

Design experiments that probe sensor edge cases and validate system robustness.

Analyze large-scale autonomous driving data to identify subtle sensor degradation patterns.

Partner with research teams at Alphabet to incorporate state-of-the-art perception techniques.

Define metrics and benchmarks for sensor validation that reflect real-world driving safety.

Champion best practices for data quality, model reliability, and operational scalability.

Requirements

MS in Computer Science, Robotics, Math, Physics or equivalent industry experience.

6+ years of experience in designing, training, and deploying ML-driven real-time robotics systems.

4+ years of experience leading technical teams and setting technical directions.

2+ years of people management experience.

Demonstrated ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, ambiguous, and collaborative environment.

Strong foundation in machine learning, computer vision, and sensor processing.

Proficiency with modern software engineering practices and production ML systems.

Excellent written and verbal communication skills for influencing cross-functional stakeholders.

Nice to have

PhD in Computer Science, Robotics, Math, Physics, or a related technical field.

Experience in robotics, autonomous systems, or related automotive industries.

Experience with various sensor modalities (e.g., LiDAR, radar, cameras) and their unique challenges.

Familiarity with early fusion multi modal sensor models and their development challenges.

Experience with rare instance or zero-shot detection problems.

Practical notes

This role is hybrid remote/in-office.

You will report to a Senior Staff TLM.

Waymo offers discretionary annual bonus, equity, and benefits to eligible employees.

Salary range varies by location and candidate factors.

About Waymo

Waymo is hiring for Staff Technical Lead Manager, ML Sensor Validation. The listing location is Mountain View, CA, USA; San Francisco, CA, USA.

This Staff Technical Lead Manager, ML Sensor Validation opening is posted for Mountain View, CA, USA; San Francisco, CA, USA.