Senior Seating and Restraints Architecture Engineer (Automotive)

Location: Hybrid work schedule in Mountain View, California, United States; approximately 20% travel to OEMs, suppliers, service providers, and other Waymo locations.

Salary: $196,000–$242,000 USD per year, plus eligibility for an annual bonus, equity incentives, and company benefits.

Company

Waymo develops autonomous driving technology and operates fully autonomous ride-hailing services powered by the Waymo Driver.

What you will do

• Lead seating-system concept and architecture development with suppliers, partner OEMs, Product, and Industrial Design teams.
• Define comfort targets and develop novel seating concepts optimized for autonomous ride-hailing vehicles.
• Benchmark competitor vehicles and validate occupant accommodation, ergonomics, and comfort targets.
• Optimize ingress and egress for diverse user demographics across unconventional cabin layouts.
• Lead restraint-system concepts for unique cabin configurations and support seat and restraint user clinics.
• Travel for on-site OEM engagements and occasional supplier, service-provider, and Waymo-location visits.

Requirements

• 7+ years of experience in automotive seating and restraint concept development and execution.
• Hands-on experience assessing seating comfort using subjective and quantitative evaluation methods.
• Understanding of FMVSS, ECE, NCAP, and IIHS regulations and test protocols.
• Experience with RAMSIS, CAVA, and CATIA for 2D/3D seat concept layouts and integration with design and CAE teams.
• Ability to establish and negotiate targets and requirements with OEMs, suppliers, and partner companies.
• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Mechanical Engineering; ability to resolve conflicting requirements in ambiguous environments.

Nice to have

• Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering.
• Experience in future mobility, electric-vehicle occupant packaging, or vehicle layout.
• Experience working with more than one OEM.
• Interest in autonomous vehicles and the future of mobility.

Culture & Benefits

• Work within a collaborative Hardware Engineering organization spanning mechanical, electrical, reliability, software, and vehicle engineering.
• Contribute to custom vehicle development for autonomous ride-hailing experiences.
• Hybrid work scheduling with travel for external engineering engagements.
• Eligibility for a discretionary annual bonus, equity incentive plan, and company benefits program.