Senior Staff Data Scientist, Perception

Overview

The Perception Development Foundations (PDF) team at Waymo is seeking a visionary leader to define and own the overarching vision and multi-year strategy for datasets used in Perception model training and evaluation. Reporting to a Director of Engineering, this role will drive the design and organizational adoption of frameworks to estimate data needs, ensure sufficient coverage and statistical power in evaluation datasets, and establish data-driven best practices within the Perception organization.

Responsibilities

• Define and own the overarching vision and multi-year strategy for datasets used in Perception model training and evaluation.
• Drive the design and organizational adoption of frameworks to estimate data needs based on model performance, scaling laws, generalization goals, and a deep understanding of the diversity in new geographies.
• Define and refine strategies for Perception evaluation datasets, ensuring they provide sufficient coverage and statistical power to measure progress and de-risk new deployments.
• Collaborate closely with Perception engineers, ML researchers, the Labeling organization, and Operations teams to translate strategic recommendations into actionable labeling plans.
• Analyze existing data sources to identify structural gaps, biases, and opportunities for more efficient data utilization.
• Establish and champion data-driven best practices for dataset design and data quality within the Perception organization, driving operational maturity.
• Establish the impact of the Data Science function within Perception as a hands-on IC, followed by building a small team.

Requirements

• BS/MS and 10+ years of industry experience, or PhD + 8 years of industry experience in Statistics, Mathematics, Physics, Economics, Engineering, Computer Science, or a related quantitative field.
• 8+ years of experience using analytics, statistical modeling, and machine learning to solve complex product, business, or autonomous systems problems.
• 5+ years of experience in coding (e.g., Python, R, SQL), querying databases, and statistical analysis.
• Proven ability to lead and deliver on highly ambiguous, high-impact technical projects in a self-directed environment.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, with a track record of influencing cross-functional teams and senior leadership.

Preferred

• Experience applying statistical and machine learning techniques to large-scale datasets.
• 6+ years of experience leading data analytics or data science initiatives, including defining strategy, roadmaps, and building functions from the ground up.
• Deep experience with data collection strategies, experimental design, sampling methodologies, and causal inference.
• A track record of mentoring other Data Scientists and driving adoption of new methods across an entire organization.

Qualifications

• BS/MS and 10+ years of industry experience, or PhD + 8 years of industry experience in Statistics, Mathematics, Physics, Economics, Engineering, Computer Science, or a related quantitative field.
• 8+ years of experience using analytics, statistical modeling, and machine learning to solve complex product, business, or autonomous systems problems.
• 5+ years of experience in coding (e.g., Python, R, SQL), querying databases, and statistical analysis.
• Proven ability to lead and deliver on highly ambiguous, high-impact technical projects in a self-directed environment.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, with a track record of influencing cross-functional teams and senior leadership.

Benefits

Waymo offers a competitive compensation package that includes a base salary range of $298,000—$368,000 USD, a discretionary annual bonus program, equity incentive plan, and generous Company benefits program, subject to eligibility requirements.