Senior Software Engineer, Linux Kernel

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Mountain View, California, US Until 8/22/2026 H-1B sponsor history First posted July 17, 2025 Last posted March 18, 2026
Job description

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 Onboard Infrastructure is responsible for low-level software and infrastructure on various components of the Waymo self-driving system. The team's scope covers everything from low-level system software to high-bandwidth data logging, IPC (low-latency and high-throughput), performance analysis, and full-system debugging. We work with the Hardware, Compute, Sensor, Perception, Behavior and Machine Learning teams to build the most performant and low-latency self-driving solution in the industry.

In this role, you will work on the System Software Team. The System Software team owns the primary compute node of Waymo's on-vehicle compute platform – an integrated embedded system. You will write Linux Kernel drivers (including creating appropriate user-space APIs) to communicate with custom hardware (e.g. custom ASICs and FPGAs). If you enjoy building embedded systems using novel compute hardware and working with engineering teams that will be direct consumers of your work, you'll be a great fit for this role.

In this hybrid role, you will report to the Technical Lead Manager.

You will:

  • Work on a small team of System Software and Linux Kernel Engineers to develop system software components from early prototyping to production launch of driverless vehicles
  • Develop and test Linux Kernel device drivers and other components for high-performance embedded systems including custom ASICs and accelerators.
  • Work with a variety of engineering teams and SoC partners to take on ambiguous problems.

 

You have:

  • BA/BS degree in Computer Science, or relevant technical field or equivalent practical experience
  • Proficiency in C and C++
  • 5+ years of programming experience in an asynchronous environment with multiple processes, threads, timers, and interrupts
  • Experience with Linux kernel and device driver development
  • Working knowledge of hardware bring-up and debugging, including the ability to read schematics/datasheets and use common tools (oscilloscopes, multimeter, logic analyzers)

 

We prefer:

  • Experience with early-silicon development tools, e.g. emulators, simulators and FPGAs
  • Experience with common hardware protocols/interfaces (PCIe, Ethernet, or I2C)
  • Experience working with multiple types of industry partners (CM, ODM, OEM, or ISV)
  • Working knowledge of complex hardware-accelerated compute pipelines (GPUs, ML accelerators, image/data processors)
  • Experience with bootloaders or programming in a BIOS
  • Experience with building and maintaining testing infrastructure for OS and other low level code.
  • Experience with performing safe and robust software and firmware updates.

The expected base salary range for this full-time position across US locations is listed below. Actual starting pay will be based on job-related factors, including exact work location, experience, relevant training and education, and skill level. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for the role location or, if the role can be performed remote, the specific salary range for your preferred location, during the hiring process. 

Waymo employees are also eligible to participate in Waymo’s discretionary annual bonus program, equity incentive plan, and generous Company benefits program, subject to eligibility requirements. 

Salary Range
$213,000$263,000 USD

Compensation (from employer):
Salary Range — 213,000 – 263,000 USD

About this role

Summary

Develop Linux kernel drivers for high-performance embedded systems in autonomous vehicles

Job title

Senior Software Engineer, Linux Kernel

Experience level

5+ years

Industry

software

Location requirements

Hybrid role, based in Mountain View, California, USA

Salary

$213,000—$263,000 USD

Visa sponsorship

H-1B sponsor history

Management role

No

Skills & keywords

Required skills

cc++linux kerneldevice driver developmenthardware debugging

Preferred skills

emulatorssimulatorsfpgaspcieetherneti2chardware protocolscompute pipelinesgpUsml acceleratorsbootloadersbiostesting infrastructuresoftware updates

Specializations

linux kerneldevice driversembedded systemshardware bring-upperformance optimization
Locations

Structured locations inferred from the posting.

Mountain View, CA, USA

Hybrid City