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Waymo·Machine Learning Engineer·Onsite - System Design / Architecture·Senior

Senior
Apr 2026

Summary

Waymo ML engineer interview with a meaty autonomous vehicle system design question. The whole thing centered on one problem but it branched into a lot of directions fast, way more than I expected from a single prompt.

Questions Asked (1)

Q1

Design an ML system for an autonomous vehicle that selects the best drop-off location near a passenger's destination and plans the maneuver to reach it.

System DesignTechnical Trade-offsProduct Analytics & Metrics
Author's notes

This question sprawled in every direction.

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AI HintsAI Generated

Suggested Approach

Start by clarifying the problem scope and constraints, then break the system into two main components: drop-off location selection and maneuver planning. For each component, discuss data sources, ML models, and evaluation metrics, emphasizing safety, comfort, and regulatory compliance. Conclude by addressing integration, trade-offs, and potential failure modes.

Pro tip: Emphasize safety as the top priority and discuss how you would validate the system with simulation and real-world testing, including edge cases like passenger urgency or construction zones.

1. Clarify Requirements and Constraints

Ask questions to understand the operational design domain, passenger preferences, regulatory constraints, and safety requirements. Define success metrics such as drop-off accuracy, passenger comfort, and time efficiency.

2. Design Drop-off Location Selection

Propose a system that uses map data, traffic rules, passenger preferences, and real-time conditions to generate and rank candidate drop-off spots. Discuss ML models for scoring candidates, such as learning-to-rank or reinforcement learning.

3. Design Maneuver Planning

Outline a planning module that takes the selected drop-off location and generates a safe, comfortable trajectory. Mention techniques like optimization-based planning, behavior prediction, and motion control.

4. Address Integration and Evaluation

Explain how the two components interact, including feedback loops. Describe offline evaluation with logged data, simulation, and online A/B testing, focusing on safety and comfort metrics.

5. Discuss Trade-offs and Failure Modes

Highlight trade-offs between optimality and safety, latency constraints, and handling of edge cases. Propose mitigation strategies for failures like sensor noise or unexpected obstacles.

Key Points to Mention

  • Use of high-definition maps and real-time perception data for candidate generation.
  • ML models for ranking drop-off spots, such as gradient boosted trees or neural networks, trained on human driver behavior.
  • Safety and comfort metrics, including jerk, acceleration, and time-to-collision.
  • Regulatory and ethical considerations, such as avoiding drop-offs in no-stopping zones or unsafe areas.
  • Simulation and scenario-based testing for validation, including rare edge cases.
  • Integration with the overall autonomous driving stack, including perception, prediction, and control.

AI-generated suggestions, not part of the candidate's original notes. May be inaccurate — verify before relying on them.