Staff Equipment Engineer

As a specialized manufacturing engineer, you invent and develop processes, materials, systems, and components that enable transformative, cutting-edge technologies in Waymo hardware. Your technical background may come from a variety of disciplines including electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, materials science, chemical engineering, chemistry, physics, or other fundamental sciences. You bring process, materials and precision assembly expertise in the fields of advanced coatings, electro-optics, optical assembly, opto-mechanics, semiconductor fabrication processes, MEMS devices, advanced semiconductor packaging, PCBA, SMT, robotics, automation, mechatronics. You often work on components that require micro & nanometer level precision with high yields and stability over the full operating range of automotive environments. In addition to aiding creation of new technologies, you bridge the gap between prototype and pilot builds, contributing to designs with your experience in novel manufacturing processes and DFx (Design for Excellence). You utilize your knowledge in statistical analysis, data science and visualization to derive insights and drive improvements. You work with both internal teams and suppliers to help develop best in class scalable processes and shape technologies that go into Waymo products.

This role follow a hybrid work schedule and reports to the Staff Manufacturing Engineer.

You will:

• Technical Lead for Automation: Own the end-to-end life cycle of factory-scale automation projects, moving from R&D prototypes in the US to high-volume production lines for Lidar modules and complex sensor sub assemblies globally.
• Cross-Functional Architecture: Drive the architectural updates for existing equipment tools (e.g., sensor calibration and fluid handling), utilizing software proficiency in C# and Python to reduce reliance on external software contractors.
• Global Vendor Management: Act as the primary technical liaison for global and APAC vendors/Contract Manufacturers (CMs), leading technical evaluations, design reviews, and scaling their capabilities to meet Waymo's quality standards.
• Factory Bring-up & Qualification: Oversee the deployment and stabilization of fully automated production lines at Fabrinet Thailand and other sites, leading Factory/Site Acceptance Tests (FAT/SAT) and GR&R studies during site visits.
• Process Optimization: Redesign manual or semi-automated processes into high-throughput, fully automated cells, focusing on cycle time reduction, yield improvement, and reliability.
• Strategic Road-mapping: Partner with leadership to define program-level automation strategies, ensuring equipment readiness aligns with hardware product launch cycles.

You have:

• Education: BS or MS in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, or equivalent.
• Senior Expertise: 8+ years of experience in automation or equipment engineering, with a proven track record of managing hardware projects with international vendors.
• Full-Stack Hardware Proficiency: Deep experience debugging across electrical, mechanical, and software interfaces, including PLC logic and high-level programming (C# or Python).
• Mass Production Ramps: Demonstrated success in taking complex hardware from initial concept through mass production (NPI to sustained production).

We prefer:

• Optical/Sensor Knowledge: Specific experience with Lidar, vision systems (Cognex/Keyence), or high-precision optical alignment equipment.
• Advanced Controls: Proficiency in 4-6 axis robotics, servo systems, and safety controller integration.
• Tool Development: Experience building custom internal tools or algorithms for equipment data post-processing and performance modeling.
• Leadership: Experience acting as a technical lead or mentor for a team of engineers and technicians during line bring-up.

Travel Requirements:

• Up to 20%
• Travel to Thailand (Occasionally)
• Travel to Taiwan (Occasionally)
• Travel to China (Occasionally)
• Domestics sites