Staff Software Engineer, Backend In-Car Experience
Mountain View, California, United States Full-Time Software Engineering 4548
Staff Software Engineer, Backend In-Car Experience
- 4548
- On Site
- Mountain View, California
- Software Engineering
- Full-Time
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.
At Waymo, we are building the world's most experienced driver. The In-Car Experience team is at the center of how our riders interact with our autonomous vehicle technology. We design and build the user-facing software and systems within the car, creating a safe and intuitive experience for every trip. Join us to define the future of in-car interactions for autonomous ride-hailing.
In this role, you will own the backend systems and API surfaces that power the rider experience, acting as the bridge between the autonomous vehicle, the cloud, and user-facing applications.
You will:
- Design and build scalable backend services and APIs (gRPC/Protobuf) that power in-car features such as trip status, media streaming, and cabin controls.
- Architect high-availability systems that manage the synchronization of state between the cloud and the autonomous vehicle fleet in real-time.
- Work closely with Android client engineers, Product Managers, and Vehicle Software teams to define data contracts and system behaviors.
- Optimize data pipelines for low-latency delivery to ensure a responsive and "magical" rider experience, even in varying network conditions.
- Manage the full software development life-cycle of backend services, focusing on security, reliability, and observability for safety-sensitive systems.
You have:
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or equivalent practical experience.
- 5+ years of professional software development experience working on backend systems.
- Proficiency in C++, Java, or Go, with a strong understanding of concurrent programming.
- Experience designing and implementing distributed systems, microservices, and defining robust APIs (REST or gRPC).
- Experience leading technical designs, making architectural trade-offs, and mentoring other engineers.
- Excellent communication skills and ability to collaborate effectively with diverse engineering teams.
We prefer:
- Experience with Google’s infrastructure (Spanner, Stubby/gRPC, Borg/Kubernetes) or similar large-scale cloud platforms (AWS/Azure).
- Background in IoT, connected devices, or automotive telematics (handling intermittent connectivity, bandwidth constraints, and device shadows).
- Experience with real-time data streaming and event-driven architectures.
- Knowledge of the Android ecosystem from a platform/backend perspective.
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.
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.)
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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.
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.
