Waymo Salary

💰 $195K–$269K salary range

Median: $232K  ·  Based on 321 public Waymo job postings  ·  Updated June 20, 2026

This Waymo salary benchmark is built from public job postings — no private placement data. Figures reflect base salary only (equity is separate) and are refreshed as new postings are collected.

📊 Salary breakdown

Highest-paying open roles at Waymo

• Principal Software Engineer, ML System Architect — $349K–$431K · Sys Intel and Machine Lrng (SQT)
• Principal Software Engineer - Waymo Driver Post Training — $349K–$431K · Perception (7LT)
• Principal Software Engineer, Onboard Field Response — $349K–$431K · Planner (7LU)
• Principal Software Engineer, Perception Pretraining — $349K–$431K · Perception (7LT)
• Tech Lead Manager ML Optimization — $298K–$378K · Sys Intel and Machine Lrng (SQT)
• Senior Staff Technical Lead Manager, Perception Optimization — $298K–$368K · Perception (7LT)
• Senior Data Science Manager, Driving Quality — $298K–$368K · Data Science (7ZZ)
• Senior Staff Android Engineer, In-Car Experience — $298K–$368K · CSI (7LV)
• Senior Staff Data Scientist, Perception — $298K–$368K · Perception (7LT)
• Senior Staff Machine Learning Engineer, Depot Automation — $298K–$368K · Depot Automation (K5D)

Waymo salary by department

• o-marketing-corp (0k5): $276K median · $308K top base — Brand Partnerships Lead (view JD) (5 roles)
• perception (7lt): $270K median · $431K top base — Principal Software Engineer - Waymo Driver Post Training (view JD) (25 roles)
• planner (7lu): $254K median · $431K top base — Principal Software Engineer, Onboard Field Response (view JD) (16 roles)
• sys intel and machine lrng (sqt): $242K median · $431K top base — Principal Software Engineer, ML System Architect (view JD) (11 roles)
• simulation (7xw): $238K median · $356K top base — Senior Staff ML Engineer, Driver Understanding and Evaluation (view JD) (40 roles)
• ai foundations (7sj): $238K median · $368K top base — Tech Lead Manager, Foundation Models (view JD) (9 roles)
• csi (7lv): $232K median · $368K top base — Senior Staff Android Engineer, In-Car Experience (view JD) (50 roles)
• eswe pose and motion control (7si): $232K median · $356K top base — Embedded Software Technical Lead & Manager, Simulation (view JD) (6 roles)

Waymo salary by seniority

• Junior: $194K median · $263K top base — Machine Learning Engineer, Runtime & Optimization (view JD) (12)
• Mid: $193K median · $259K top base — Software Engineer, GPU (view JD) (40)
• Senior: $232K median · $368K top base — Senior Data Science Manager, Driving Quality (view JD) (122)
• Staff: $281K median · $431K top base — Principal Software Engineer, ML System Architect (view JD) (69)

Waymo salary — lead & management

• Lead: $257K median · $308K top base — Brand Partnerships Lead (view JD) (12)
• Manager: $196K median · $378K top base — Tech Lead Manager ML Optimization (view JD) (59)
• Director: $266K median · $352K top base — Director, Global Operations Control (view JD) (7)

Waymo salary by location

• Remote: $232K median · $378K top base — Tech Lead Manager ML Optimization (view JD) (71 roles)
• San Francisco: $178K median · $308K top base — Brand Partnerships Lead (view JD) (25 roles)
• New York: $197K median · $302K top base — Technical Lead Manager (TLM), ML Simulation (view JD) (4 roles)

Remote work at Waymo

23% of Waymo's disclosed-pay roles are remote-friendly. Remote roles run a $232K median vs $178K onsite.

What Waymo looks for

Most-required skills across these postings: Python (124) · SQL (44) · PyTorch (30) · Java (21) · TensorFlow (16) · Kotlin (8) · GCP (7) · Product Roadmap (7) · CI/CD (6) · Angular (6).

Benefits & perks at Waymo

Commonly listed: bonus (309) · dental (18) · 401k (18) · pto (18) · parental (18).

About Waymo

Waymo is Series D stage · 1,001–5,000 employees · founded 2009 · HQ Mountain View, California. This context shapes pay: later-stage, well-funded companies tend to anchor base salary higher.

Experience & background at Waymo

Roles typically ask for around 6 years of experience (up to 17+ for the most senior). Most postings don't state a degree requirement; of the 230 that do, Bachelor's and Master's and PhD are most common.

Posted pay vs. total compensation

The figures on this page are the midpoint of each posting's advertised salary range (which, for commission roles, includes on-target earnings). Equity is a separate — and often large — component of total compensation, especially at high-growth and AI-native companies; 96% of these postings reference equity (options). Equity is not included in the medians above.

Waymo total compensation signals

Beyond the posted-range midpoint, postings indicate: 100% of roles list a bonus; common structures: salaried. Bonus, commission, and equity vary by role and are not included in the base medians above.

Waymo hiring activity

Waymo has 321 open roles right now, and this benchmark draws on 321 public job postings with disclosed pay. 67 of these roles were first seen in the last 30 days (321 in the last 90). Mostly full-time, with 9 contract roles in the mix.

💼 Similar companies hiring

Compare Waymo's pay with companies in the same space:

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Coframe · Lambda · Perplexity · OpenArt AI · Goodfire

📚 Salary guides & rankings

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Explore more salary data

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Common questions

What does Waymo pay?
The median pay is $232K, with a typical range of $195K–$269K, based on 321 public job postings (2025–2026). Base only — equity is separate.

What is the highest-paying job at Waymo?
One of the highest-paying open roles is Principal Software Engineer, ML System Architect, at $349K–$431K base.

Which team pays the most at Waymo?
The o-marketing-corp (0k5) team, at a $276K median.

Where does this data come from?
Public job postings on company career pages and public job boards — no private placement or client data.

Methodology

Posted-range midpoints (USD) aggregated from 321 public Waymo job postings (2025–2026). Range = 25th–75th percentile; median = 50th percentile. Roles, departments, skills, and experience are parsed from the postings. Base salary only — equity excluded. Last refreshed June 20, 2026.

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