Research Scientist, World Model Post-Training

Waymo is hiring a Research Scientist, World Model Post-Training in Mountain View, San Francisco and New York, United States. It pays $213k-$263k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on Waymo.

Level's read on this job

Builds AI ●●●● is how Level rates this research scientist role: the job is building AI systems.
The listed pay starts 12% above the typical research scientist posting on Level.
The posting allows some remote work.
Tools and skills the posting cites include PyTorch, TensorFlow and JAX.
Level lists 366 other open roles at Waymo.

AI in this role

Conduct applied world model research and post-train generative models for autonomous driving.

PyTorchTensorFlowJAXPython

deep-learningreinforcement-learninggenerative-modelingmachine-learning

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.

The mission of the Waymo AI Foundations team is to develop machine learning solutions addressing open problems in autonomous driving, towards the goal of safely operating Waymo vehicles in dozens of cities and under all driving conditions. As part of our work, we also initiate and foster collaborations with other research teams in Alphabet. AI Foundations areas that we are currently focusing on include reinforcement learning, learning from demonstration, generative modeling, Bayesian inference, hierarchical learning, and robust evaluation.

In this hybrid role, you will report to a Software Engineering Manager.

You will:

Conduct applied world model research and development
Post-train Waymo’s world model
Design compelling experiments by training and evaluating large generative models
Present results to peers and leadership
Leverage AI to write high quality code, unit tests, and documentation, and automate workflows

You have:

Masters or PhD in deep learning in generative / world modeling
3+ years of experience with modern deep learning frameworks (e.g., JAX, TensorFlow 2, Pytorch)
Experience with diffusion / flow matching models
Experience with reinforcement learning
Experience training large foundational models

We prefer:

Experience with post-training of foundational models
Experience with reinforcement learning for diffusion / flow matching models
Experience with distillation
Experience with autonomous vehicles

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

How we rate this

Research Scientist, World Model Post-Training at Waymo rates 95 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Builds AI (AI Level 4 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.

Classification

Builds AI. The job is building AI systems.

●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
●○○○ Little AI0 to 39

Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.

Key facts

Research Scientist, World Model Post-Training is an open job at Waymo.
Level rates this role AI Level 4 of 4: Builds AI.
The listed salary is $213k-$263k a year.
The role is based in Mountain View, CA, USA; San Francisco, CA, USA; New York, NY, USA and is marked remote.
The job was posted on September 22, 2026.
Seniority: senior.
Applications are handled by Waymo. Apply on Waymo

Prepare for this job

Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.

Skills and AI tools this role asks for

Deep learningReinforcement learningGenerative ModelingMachine learningPyTorchTensorFlowJAXPython

Also common in research scientist jobs at this level

Python LLM C++Computer vision Generative AI CUDA

Pay

This job starts at: $213k
Typical research scientist job: $191k

This posting starts 12% above the typical research scientist job. See research scientist jobs

Questions you could be asked

Tell me about a project where deep learning was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where reinforcement learning was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where generative modeling was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where machine learning was part of your work. What did you do?
Walk me through how you've used PyTorch in your day-to-day work.

Adapt your resume

List these exact terms on your resume: Deep learning, Reinforcement learning, Generative Modeling, Machine learning, and PyTorch. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them. A tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.
Lead with what you built, trained or shipped. This role is judged on the AI system itself, not the tools around it.

Get your CV reviewed before you apply

Send your CV and the role you want next. Your review arrives by email within 3 days.

Get a free CV review Check your resume with the ATS resume checker