Software Engineer, System-on-Chip (SoC) Simulation

Waymo's Compute Team is tasked with a critical and exciting mission: We deliver the compute platform responsible for running the fully autonomous vehicle’s software stack. To achieve our mission, we architect and create high-performance custom silicon; we develop system-level compute architectures that push the boundaries of performance, power, and latency; and we collaborate closely with many other teammates to ensure we design and optimize hardware and software for maximum performance. We are a multidisciplinary team seeking curious and talented teammates to work on one of the world’s highest performance automotive compute platforms.

This role follows a hybrid work schedule, and you will report to the Tech Lead Manager of the Compute team.

You will:

• Develop the simulation solutions to support early software development and architecture exploration for next-generation SoC
• Integrate Waymo in-house accelerator models into the full-system simulation infrastructure
• Establish and maintain a robust CI/CD workflow based on simulation to ensure Waymo onboard software achieves production quality during pre-silicon phases
• Collaborate closely with various teams to proactively identify functional silicon bugs and performance bottlenecks in the pre-silicon stage using a modern, simulation-centric methodology
• Interact with cross-functional engineering teams to identify opportunities and requirements

You have:

• Proven expertise in C++ programming
• Advanced degrees in EECS, coupled with a minimum of three years of industry experience
• Solid understanding of computer operating system & SoC architecture, e.g. IOMMU, DMA, etc
• Knowledge of full-system simulation and virtualization, e.g. gem5, SystemC, QEMU, KVM, etc
• Strong English communication skills (written and verbal)

We prefer:

• Experience with high-performance interconnects and memory interfaces, such as AXI/AMBA, PCIe, DRAM, and Ethernet
• Familiarity with accelerators (e.g., ML accelerators or GPUs) or comparable high-performance designs
• Expertise in bare metal programming, embedded systems, Linux internals, operating systems, boot loaders, drivers, and firmware
• Proficiency in performance and power analysis techniques