Staff Technical Lead Manager, ML Sensor Validation

Job Summary

The Perception Team at Waymo is seeking a Senior Machine Learning Engineer to lead a team responsible for reliable sensing anomaly detection and calibration. This role involves building a data flywheel for automatic generation of training data for rare instance sensor degradation events using VLMs, owning the entire sensor validation stack, and driving collaborations between perception, system engineering, evaluation, and Alphabet teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead and build a team of ML engineers in charge of reliable sensing anomaly detection and calibration
• Build a data flywheel to automatically generate suitable training data for rare instance sensor degradation events using VLMs
• Own the entire sensor validation stack end to end
• Drive and accelerate collaborations between perception, system engineering, evaluation, and Alphabet teams

Requirements

• MS in Computer Science, Robotics, Math, Physics or equivalent industry experience
• 6+ years of experience in designing, training, and deploying ML-driven real-time robotics systems
• 4+ years of experience leading technical teams and setting technical directions
• 2+ years of people management experience

Preferred

• PhD in Computer Science, Robotics, Math, Physics, or a related technical field
• Experience in robotics, autonomous systems, or related automotive industries
• Experience with various sensor modalities (e.g., LiDAR, radar, cameras) and their unique challenges
• Familiarity with early fusion multi modal sensor models and their development challenges
• Experience with rare instance or zero-shot detection problems

Benefits

We offer a competitive compensation package, a discretionary annual bonus program, equity incentives, and a comprehensive benefits program including medical, dental, and vision insurance, mental wellness support, gym memberships, and special wellness programs. Employees also have access to enhanced leave options, flexible work arrangements, and opportunities for personal and professional growth.