Application Guide

How to Apply for System Safety Engineer - Onboard SW / SOTIF

at Waymo

🏢 About Waymo

Waymo is a pioneer in autonomous driving technology, operating the world's first fully autonomous ride-hailing service. Working at Waymo means contributing to cutting-edge technology that's already deployed on public roads, with a mission to make transportation safer and more accessible. The company's unique position as both a technology developer and real-world operator creates unparalleled opportunities for safety engineers to see their work directly impact deployed systems.

About This Role

This System Safety Engineer role focuses specifically on Onboard Software and SOTIF (Safety of the Intended Functionality), requiring leadership in cross-functional safety analysis for autonomous vehicle software systems. The position is impactful because you'll be defining safety requirements and verification strategies for software that directly controls vehicles in complex real-world environments, ensuring Waymo's autonomous systems meet rigorous safety standards while navigating edge cases and operational design domains.

💡 A Day in the Life

A typical day involves reviewing software design documents to identify potential safety hazards, leading cross-functional meetings with software and systems teams to define safety requirements, analyzing field data to assess safety risks in deployed systems, and developing safety arguments for specific software features. You'll spend significant time documenting safety analyses, collaborating on verification strategies, and ensuring safety considerations are integrated throughout the software development lifecycle.

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🎯 Who Waymo Is Looking For

  • Has 10+ years of safety engineering experience with at least 5 years specifically in System Safety engineering, ideally in automotive, aerospace, or robotics domains
  • Demonstrates proficiency in both inductive (like FMEA) and deductive (like FTA) safety analysis methods for software-intensive systems
  • Possesses deep understanding of SOTIF (ISO 21448) and its application to autonomous vehicle software, including handling sensor limitations and performance insufficiencies
  • Has experience defining SMART safety requirements and collaborating with verification teams on autonomous vehicle software validation

📝 Tips for Applying to Waymo

1

Quantify your 10+ years of safety engineering experience with specific examples of hazard analysis you've performed on software systems, not just hardware

2

Highlight any experience with SOTIF specifically, as this is called out in the job title - mention how you've addressed performance limitations and edge cases in autonomous systems

3

Demonstrate your cross-functional leadership experience by describing how you've worked with software, systems, and verification teams to implement safety requirements

4

Show familiarity with Waymo's specific technology by referencing their autonomous driving stack or safety publications in your application materials

5

Emphasize your experience with safety standards relevant to autonomous vehicles (ISO 26262, ISO 21448, UL 4600) and how you've adapted them for real-world deployment

✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter

["Your specific experience with SOTIF and how you've applied it to autonomous vehicle or robotics software systems", 'Examples of leading cross-functional safety efforts that resulted in implemented mitigations for software hazards', "How you've promoted safety culture within previous organizations and contributed to safety process improvements", 'Your understanding of the unique challenges in safety engineering for deployed autonomous systems versus theoretical or prototype systems']

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🔍 Research Before Applying

To stand out, make sure you've researched:

  • → Waymo's Safety Report and how they approach safety validation and testing of their autonomous systems
  • → Waymo's specific technology stack and operational design domains (where they operate and under what conditions)
  • → Recent Waymo publications or presentations on safety engineering, particularly related to software and SOTIF
  • → Waymo's safety culture and how they've addressed specific safety challenges publicly discussed in media or technical forums

💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics

Based on this role, you may be asked about:

1 Walk me through how you would perform a SOTIF analysis for a specific onboard software feature like object classification or path planning
2 Describe a time you identified a safety hazard in software and how you worked cross-functionally to implement mitigations
3 How do you balance quantitative risk assessment with qualitative safety arguments in autonomous vehicle software?
4 What safety standards and best practices would you apply to Waymo's specific operational design domains?
5 How would you approach verifying that safety requirements are effectively implemented in complex software systems with machine learning components?
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⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Focusing only on hardware safety experience without demonstrating software safety expertise, especially for autonomous systems
  • Presenting generic safety process knowledge without specific examples of applying SOTIF or similar frameworks to real systems
  • Failing to show cross-functional collaboration experience - this role requires leading across software, systems, and verification teams

📅 Application Timeline

This position is open until filled. However, we recommend applying as soon as possible as roles at mission-driven organizations tend to fill quickly.

Typical hiring timeline:

1

Application Review

1-2 weeks

2

Initial Screening

Phone call or written assessment

3

Interviews

1-2 rounds, usually virtual

✓

Offer

Congratulations!

Ready to Apply?

Good luck with your application to Waymo!

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