Staff Tech Lead, ML Data Infrastructure and Inference Platform
About this role
Scaling autonomous driving safely requires solving massive machine learning data challenges across planet-scale infrastructure, and this team owns the centralized feature store, extraction frameworks, and inference systems that drive all ML flywheels at Waymo. Engineering leaders stepping into this capacity will design and maintain the underlying data architecture that powers both onboard systems and foundation models, ensuring high-volume data flows seamlessly from simulation and public roads into active training pipelines. Operating at the intersection of infrastructure and applied AI, the group collaborates closely with modeling teams to support the Waymo Driver.
Candidates joining the organization will direct technical strategy while mentoring engineers, guiding complex platform migrations, and coordinating cross-functional initiatives. Successful practitioners typically combine deep distributed systems experience with a background in machine learning infrastructure, enabling them to navigate large-scale data environments and complex architectural hurdles with clarity.
What you will do
- Build, lead, and contribute to the machine learning data infrastructure platform to enable planet-scale ML flywheels.
- Partner with onboard and offboard foundation model teams to understand data infrastructure needs, distributions, quality, value, and freshness.
- Onboard new flywheels onto the centralized data store to ensure seamless adoption across the organization.
- Guide the architectural development and expansion of core infrastructure components.
- Lead, mentor, and direct a team of engineers to deliver complex technical projects efficiently.
What you need
- Bring six or more years of professional experience in the field of software engineering.
- Demonstrate past success tech leading projects characterized by high cross-team collaboration.
- Show documented experience leading teams of engineers through complex technical deliverables.
- Possess hands-on programming experience using C++.
- Have a proven track record building highly scalable distributed systems.
- Demonstrated familiarity with machine learning data management and ML flywheels.
Nice to have
- Experience handling large datasets in the order of exabytes.
- Background building machine learning infrastructure and model hosting or inference infrastructure.
- Familiarity operating production services that handle high queries per second.
Benefits
- Discretionary annual bonus program
- Equity incentive plan
- Company benefits program
Skills and tech stack
Questions candidates ask
What is the location policy for this role?
The position is based in Mountain View, CA, USA, with a hybrid working model indicated by the posting.
What is the salary range for the position?
The expected base salary range for this full-time role across US locations is $251,000 to $310,000 USD. Actual starting pay depends on job-related factors including exact work location, experience, relevant training and education, and skill level.
What additional compensation is available beyond base pay?
Employees are eligible to participate in Waymo's discretionary annual bonus program, equity incentive plan, and company benefits program, subject to eligibility requirements.