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# Automotive Testing Lead

- **Company:** Waymo LLC
- **Location:** Mountain View, CA, United States
- **Experience:** Expert
- **Salary:** $196,000.0 - $242,000.0
- **Contract:** Permanent contract
- **Skills:** Systems Engineering, JIRA, Automation of Tests, Issue Tracking Systems, Python (Programming Language), Requirements Management, Smoke Testing, SQL Databases, System Testing, Systems Integration, Strategies of Testing, Jama (Software), Data Logging, Data Analytics
- **Published:** September 19, 2026
- **Apply:** https://jobs.localjobnetwork.com/apply/add/86478911/1

## About the Role

* Professional fluency in Japanese (N1 level or equivalent)
 * Experience with physical hands-on testing of vehicles (ADAS, vehicle dynamics, low-voltage systems, system integration)
 * Strong background in systems engineering, test engineering, or automotive validation
 * Demonstrated leadership experience with a track record of coordinating with and leading vendor teams
 * Ability to navigate ambiguity and drive technical consensus across different organizational cultures

We prefer:

 * Experience managing external partners or suppliers in a technical capacity
 * Experience with requirements management tools (e.g., Jama, DOORS) and issue tracking (e.g., Jira)
 * Strong knowledge of Systems Engineering principles and experience developing verification coverage plans from system level requirements
 * Proficiency in Python or SQL for test automation

Travel requirements:

 * Willingness to travel up to 50% of the time

## Description

* Act as Waymo's test engineering representative across a number of technical domains, helping partners develop test strategies for requirements, detailed test plans, scripts, and clear judgement criteria.
 * Guide partners in the transition from manual testing methodologies to automated, data-driven approaches, partnering with internal infrastructure teams to build solutions that accelerate the test-to-reporting feedback loop.
 * Spearhead cross-functional collaboration between Waymo and OEM stakeholders, identifying operational gaps, mentoring partner engineers, and building their expertise in complex, cross-system validation.
 * Define, execute, and manage early vehicle smoke test campaigns, establishing strict entry/exit criteria to validate "SDS-Ready" software releases before upstream integration.
 * Scale and lead in-territory vehicle-level testing operations, actively managing daily physical test execution alongside embedded vendor teams.
 * Ensure strict traceability and logging standards are met across all external test executions to guarantee seamless integration into Waymo's central data repositories.


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