Research Scientist, Map Scalability (VLMs, 3D Reconstruction) at Waymo

Job Description

Waymo’s AI Foundations team is hiring a research scientist to work on world understanding at scale for map scalability, using vision-language models, generative modelling and 3D reconstruction. The scientist prototypes ideas on Waymo’s internal driving data, scales them with engineering teams and presents results across Waymo and Alphabet, with the chance to publish. A master’s or Ph.D. is required.

At a glance

• Team: AI Foundations
• Location: Mountain View, San Francisco or New York
• Pay: From $213,000 a year base, as listed
• Apply: open until filled (re-checked 14 October 2026)

What you would do

• Solve research problems in world understanding with VLMs, generative models and large-scale 3D reconstruction
• Prototype and iterate on ideas using Waymo’s driving data
• Scale and productionise solutions with engineering teams
• Present findings across Waymo and Alphabet, and publish where possible

Why this role matters

Detailed maps help self-driving cars, but building and updating them city by city is slow. Learning to understand and reconstruct the world automatically from driving data is key to expanding to many more cities, which makes this research central to Waymo’s growth and to its expansion into new cities.

What Waymo is looking for

• A master’s or Ph.D. in computer science, AI or a related field
• Research experience in VLMs, generative modelling or 3D reconstruction
• Strong implementation skills

Nice to have

• Publications at top vision or ML venues

Pay and location

Waymo’s posting gives a base salary range starting at $213,000 a year, plus bonus, equity and benefits.

How to apply

Apply through the official Waymo job posting. Waymo’s posting does not give a closing date, so the role is open until filled; ResearchJobs.in will re-check this listing on 14 October 2026. Check the posting for location and work-authorisation details before you apply.

See all our artificial intelligence jobs, or browse more research jobs on ResearchJobs.in.