Senior Software Engineer, Simulator Orchestration

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 Challenge

Waymo’s simulator is one of the most complex virtual environments ever built. It blends deterministic logic, physical dynamics, and advanced AI to create a realistic training ground for the Waymo Driver. As we expand autonomous driving into new geographies, complex weather conditions, and next-generation capabilities, our goal is to build a highly adaptable, generic simulator that works across any environment.

The Simulator Orchestration team is at the heart of tackling this scaling challenge. Our mission is to deliver simulation solutions that power evaluation and training across a diverse range of challenging requirements. We are looking for a Senior Software Engineer who is passionate about solving complex evaluation problems with simulation technology and thrives on delivering practical solutions within a vast technical ecosystem.

The Role

This is a hybrid role. As a core contributor to the Simulator Orchestration team, you will focus on solving practical simulation challenges by intelligently configuring and orchestrating simulator features.

You will:

• Architect Simulation Solutions: Drive the simulator development of the environments required for new initiatives, such as complex weather setups, new geography expansions (e.g., left-hand traffic), and adapting the simulator to support next-generation onboard capabilities.

• Design the Orchestration Layer: Design and implement systems that dynamically select and compose simulator features based on the specific environment and context, bringing us closer to a truly universal simulator.

• Navigate Complex Systems: Dive deep into a massive C++ codebase of onboard and simulator code. You are willing to get your hands dirty. You will rely on strong code-reading and debugging skills to trace and resolve complex interactions between different systems, shipping robust, production-ready code.

• Collaborate Across Boundaries: Act as the technical glue between teams. You'll partner closely with partners from Simulator, Eval and Onboard orgs, taking the building blocks they provide and turning them into complete, end-to-end simulation solutions.

What You Bring

We are looking for a strong generalist software engineer who leans heavily toward practical execution and is comfortable navigating large-scale, interconnected systems.

You have:

• Engineering Craftsmanship:

  • 5+ years of industry experience in software development.
  • Solid proficiency in C++ (preferred) or Python, with a strong ability to read, navigate, and debug large, existing codebases.
  • Experience building orchestration, dynamic configuration, or integration layers for large-scale software systems.

• Practical Problem Solving:

  • A proven track record of delivering working solutions in highly complex, ambiguous technical domains.
  • A pragmatic approach to engineering. You are willing to find compromises and make the right trade-offs to achieve the broader goal, avoiding the trap of over-engineering or getting stuck in "ideal land."

• Collaboration & Communication:

  • Exceptional communication skills. You are comfortable navigating ambiguity, negotiating technical boundaries, and building successful partnerships with upstream and downstream teams.

We prefer:

• Deep passion for solving complex evaluation problems with simulation technology to advance autonomous driving.

• Track record in delivering goals via practical solutions.

• Background in fields that rely heavily on complex systems integration, such as autonomous vehicles, robotics, simulation, or large backend infrastructure.

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