2026 Summer Intern, MS / PhD, Systems Engineer, Rider Comfort

Waymo is an autonomous driving technology company with the mission to be the world's most trusted driver. Since its start as the Google Self-Driving Car Project in 2009, Waymo has focused on building the Waymo Driver-The World's Most Experienced Driver-to improve access to mobility while saving thousands of lives now lost to traffic crashes. The Waymo Driver powers Waymo's fully autonomous ride-hail service and can also be applied to a range of vehicle platforms and product use cases. The Waymo Driver has provided over ten million rider-only trips, enabled by its experience autonomously driving over 100 million miles on public roads and tens of billions in simulation across 15+ U.S. states.

Waymo interns partner with leaders in the industry on projects that create impact to the company. We believe learning is a two-way street : applying your knowledge while providing you with opportunities to expand your skill-set. Interns are an important part of our culture and our recruiting pipeline. Join us at Waymo for a fun and rewarding internship!

You will :

• Develop a systems approach to rider comfort, focusing on motion control issues (e.g. jerky motion, improper speed, avoiding potholes).
• Research prior art in comfort among industry, academia, and intra-Waymo (existing features & metrics).
• Develop metrics to measure comfort. Write SQL to query large-scale over Waymo's 2,000+ vehicle fleet. Look for trends and correlations (e.g. surface street vs highway).
• Draft requirements to formalize testable performance expectations. Consult with test engineers to establish V&V methods.
• Propose driving behavior changes. Work with SWEs to implement proof of concept, and run simulation or in-vehicle eval to measure improvements or regressions.

You have :

We prefer :

Note : This will be a hybrid onsite internship position. We will accept resumes on a rolling basis until the role is filled. To be in consideration for multiple roles, you will need to apply to each one individually - please apply to the top 3 roles you are interested in.

The expected hourly rate for this full-time position is listed below. Interns are also eligible to participate in the Company's generous benefits programs, subject to eligibility requirements. Hourly Masters Pay $70—$70 USD The expected hourly rate for this full-time position is listed below. Interns are also eligible to participate in the Company's generous benefits programs, subject to eligibility requirements. Hourly PhD Pay $85—$85 USD