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Senior Research Scientist, Sensor Simulation

Mountain View, California, United States. New York City, New York, United States Full-Time AI Foundations 4403

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Senior Research Scientist, Sensor Simulation

  • 4403
  • On Site
  • Mountain View, California
  • New York City, New York
  • AI Foundations
  • Full-Time
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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.

The mission of the Waymo AI Foundations team is to develop machine learning solutions addressing open problems in autonomous driving, towards the goal of safely operating Waymo vehicles in dozens of cities and under all driving conditions. As part of our work, we also initiate and foster collaborations with other research teams in Alphabet. AI Foundations areas that we are currently focusing on include reinforcement learning, learning from demonstration, generative modeling, Bayesian inference, hierarchical learning, and robust evaluation.

This role follows a hybrid work schedule and reports and reports to a Staff Research Scientist.

You will

  • Solve fundamental and applied research problems related to large-scale 3D dynamic scene reconstruction from real-world scenarios, scene synthesis using generative models, and combining reconstructive and generative methods to power AV simulations
  • Advance, adapt and scale state-of-the-art ML-based reconstruction methods, such as 3D Gaussian Splatting, to the problem of AV simulation
  • Prototype and iterate on various research ideas using Waymo's internal driving data
  • Scale and productionize simulation solutions in collaboration with engineering teams across Waymo
  • Present research findings to a wide audience within Waymo and Alphabet, with the possibility of publishing results to the research community

You have

  • Master’s or PhD degree in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, or in a similar discipline
  • 3+ years of experience in a related field
  • In-depth expertise with 3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS) and/or other learning-based 3D reconstruction methods
  • Some experience with generative image/video/world models
  • Strong ML software engineering skills in Python with an ability to rapidly prototype solutions
  • Familiarity with major ML Frameworks (JAX, Tensorflow, Pytorch)

We prefer

  • Publications at top-tier conferences like CVPR/ICCV/ECCV/ICLR/ICML/NeurIPS/IROS/CoRL etc.
  • Hands-on experience productionizing and scaling ML solutions beyond the research stage
  • Fundamentals in 3D vision and/or computer graphics
  • Domain experience in the autonomous vehicle or simulation space

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
$204,000—$259,000 USD

We appreciate your interest in Waymo. Waymo is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, committed to creating a culture of belonging and maintaining a supportive workplace for all employees. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds, and employment decisions are based on a candidate’s qualifications, experience, and alignment with job requirements and business needs. 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, family status, pregnancy, 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 making sure our hiring process is accessible for all candidates. If you need assistance applying for a role or participating in the interview process due to a disability, 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.)

Some of our Benefits

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, gym membership, and special wellness programs.

Financial wellness

Your financial peace of mind is important to us. At Waymo, we offer competitive compensation, bonus opportunities, equity, employees provident fund, 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 26 weeks of paid leave for birthing parents and 18 weeks of paid leave for non-birthing parents.

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.

Ready to Apply?