Senior Software Engineer, Planner Reasoning

waymo· Planner (7LU)
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About this role

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 Planner Reasoning Team builds technology that has an extremely broad impact across the Waymo organization and is the team most directly responsible for the Waymo Driver’s behavior. We have wide reaching impact into both onboard and off-board system architecture, paving the way for future-looking deep-learning-based explorations. In this team, you'll have an impact on scaling our Waymo Driver's performance and maintaining and improving our excellent safety record as Waymo expands to more cities. 

In this hybrid role, you will report to an Engineering Manager.

You will:

  • Develop business logic software to evolve driving performance of the Waymo Driver
  • Work cross-functionally on safety, road rules compliance, and ride quality
  • Develop and implement methods to evaluate and improve Waymo driving behaviors
  • Evaluate new proposed changes utilizing a range of data-driven methods
  • Analyze large amounts of data of real world and simulated driving, understanding, characterizing and clustering the performance of the Waymo Driver
  • Interact with ML models to maximize their impact towards solving driving problems

You have:

  • Bachelors in Computer Science, Robotics, Math, Physics, Statistics (or similar technical field of study) or equivalent practical experience
  • 6+ years of Software Engineering experience in Python or C++
  • Experience debugging and improving live, production systems
  • Experience with designing scalable software architectures for complex systems
  • Demonstrated alignment with Waymo’s Values and Behaviors

We prefer:

  • Proficiency in C++
  • Experience with large-scale data/ML applications
  • Evaluation experience, contributing to scalable evaluation workflows
  • Experience with autonomous systems

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
$213,000$263,000 USD

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the salary disclosed for the Senior Software Engineer, Planner Reasoning position at waymo?
The salary for this Senior Software Engineer, Planner Reasoning role at waymo is not publicly listed. Click "Apply Now" to learn more about the compensation package on their official careers page.
Where is the Senior Software Engineer, Planner Reasoning position at waymo located?
This Senior Software Engineer, Planner Reasoning role at waymo is based in Mountain View, CA, USA; San Francisco, CA, USA. The position is listed as on-site or hybrid. Check the full job description or apply directly to confirm the work arrangement.
Which team or department does the Senior Software Engineer, Planner Reasoning at waymo belong to?
This Senior Software Engineer, Planner Reasoning position is part of the Planner (7LU) department at waymo. See the full job description for more information about the team structure and responsibilities.
How do I apply for the Senior Software Engineer, Planner Reasoning position at waymo?
Click the "Apply Now" button on this page. You will be redirected to waymo's official application portal hosted on greenhouse where you can submit your application directly.
When was the Senior Software Engineer, Planner Reasoning job at waymo posted?
This Senior Software Engineer, Planner Reasoning position at waymo was posted on Oct 15, 2025. Apply as soon as possible — early applications are often reviewed first.
Senior Software Engineer, Planner Reasoning
waymo
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