
Industrialization Engineer
Waymo · Mountain View, CA
- Level
- Engineer
- Team
- Industrial
- Degree
- Required
- Experience asked
- 10+ years
- Certification
- Black Belt preferred
- Industry
- Automotive
- Posted
- Today
The role in 30 seconds
An engineer-level industrial role at Waymo (automotive) in Mountain View, CA. Contract & Commercial Management: Collaborate with Procurement and Legal to develop Statements of Work (SOW), technical specifications, and equipment contracts.
- They ask for
- 10+ years · degree required · Black Belt preferred
- Tools it names
- Six Sigma, Black Belt, Green Belt, Root cause, SPC, FMEA
Read from the posting. The full description is below.
From the plant jobs report · week of October 26, 2026
Industrial Engineer roles in California: typical posted base $127k–$190k.
Median of the low and high ends of 16 live postings that list pay, out of 42 industrial engineer openings in California, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.
California plant jobs report →Pay by team and state →What moves pay →
How this role compares
Against 41 other live industrial postings in California.
- Base pay
- Not listed in this posting
- Experience asked
- More than usual (10+ vs 6+)
Typical $125k–$184k, from 15 postings that list pay.
Similar roles usually ask 6+ years.
Skills these teams ask for most
- ✓ New product launch 55%
- Lean 52%
- ✓ Six Sigma 43%
- ✓ Root cause 43%
- ✓ SPC 33%
- MES 33%
✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.
Stands out: this posting asks for Black Belt, Green Belt, Control plans, MSA / Gage R&R, which few similar roles mention. If you have it, lead with it.
At a glance
Pulled from the posting text. If it's not listed here, the posting didn't say.
How to get in at this plant
Five moves over a week or two. The first one takes ten minutes.
- 1
Pick 2–3 people on the Industrial team at Waymo
We found 3 people at this company and state: 3 in this kind of role. Engineers who joined in the last year or two reply the most. See them ↓
- 2
Send a short, curious note
One real question about their work. No favors yet. Each person gets a different note, written for this role.
Write to Vasil → (free) - 3
Turn a reply into a short call
Questions worth asking about this team:
- What does a normal week look like on your team?
- Is it more layout and capacity work, or time studies and standard work?
- The posting mentions a Black Belt. Does the company sponsor certification?
- How did you land the job? What stood out in your interviews?
- 4
Apply with someone vouching for you
If the call went well, ask whether they’d pass your résumé to the hiring manager. Send your résumé link, apply that day, and let them know.
- 5
Bring proof to the interview
One page of before-and-after numbers from projects you led: scrap, OEE, cycle time, cost. Plant managers hire on results.
This plant: Waymo in Mountain View
7 other open roles at this site · 3 people we found in industrial roles at Waymo.
- Product Operations Manager, Ops Compliance & Regulatory Infrastructure · Production · Manager
- Product Quality Engineer, Automotive Sensors · Quality
- Product Quality Engineer, Vehicle Systems · Quality
- Director, FP&A - HW Engineering & Supply Chain · Manufacturing · Director+
- Staff Hardware Reliability Engineer · Reliability · Senior
- Staff Field Quality Engineer · Quality · Senior
Full description from WaymoAs posted on their careers site.ShowHide
requirements
and manage any changes proposed by Waymo or external suppliers. Provide clear updates to Waymo management on the manufacturing process & test development & qualification status.
- ✓Continuous Improvement: Identify manufacturing bottlenecks, yield issues, and cycle time constraints on supplier lines. Drive root cause analysis and implement corrective actions to optimize production efficiency and product quality. Identify key learnings from past projects and ensure target action items are fully executed. Ensure all proposed product or component changes are properly evaluated and appropriately implemented while mitigating associated risks for the production / equipment processes.
requirements
- ✓30% to travel domestically and internationally to supplier manufacturing sites as required during critical launch phases.
Show full description ↓Show less ↑
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.
Hardware Engineering is an innovative and collaborative group of electrical, mechanical, reliability, software and vehicle engineers. We design, build, and perfect the products which are the eyes and ears of Waymo's autonomous driving technology, and integrate those products into vehicle platforms. We're seeking curious and talented teammates to keep us moving in the right direction.
You will
- •Supplier Assembly Line Deployment: Lead the industrialization of "build to print" automotive autonomous sensors & ECUs (cameras, radars, lidars, compute) at external supplier partner facilities. Oversee the design, installation, and validation of automated and semi-automated assembly lines. Track production line readiness (PCBA and FATP) for all NPI builds and early production builds. Drive the resolution of open technical questions from external suppliers.
- •Process Engineering & Quality: Ensure supplier manufacturing processes strictly adhere to engineering drawings, tolerances, and automotive quality standards. Drive the completion of DFxs, PFMEAs, Control Plans, MSA and capability studies (Cp/Cpk). Enforce structured equipment/station development with FMEA approach. Support ILQC audits and drive implementation of Preventative & Detective controls at external suppliers.
- •Program Management: Act as the primary technical project manager for supplier launches. Establish realistic timelines, track milestones, manage equipment buy-offs (FAT/SAT), and ensure flawless execution through PPAP and Start of Production (SOP). Coordinate material supply to ensure the manufacturing development schedule stays on track. Ensure CMs have the latest BOMs and corresponding component specifications. Drive the mitigation of all process development / qualification risks that pose a threat to meeting the product performance and quality requirements.
- •Contract & Commercial Management: Collaborate with Procurement and Legal to develop Statements of Work (SOW), technical specifications, and equipment contracts. Negotiate technical terms, manage change orders, and hold suppliers accountable to contractual obligations. Track suppliers Capex spend.
- •Cross-Functional Leadership: Serve as the technical liaison between Internal R&D, Quality, Purchasing, and External manufacturing partners. Coordinate with Waymo cross-functional technical teams for support in debugging & resolving issues that impact manufacturing line qualification. Ensure compliance to defined
You have
- •Education: Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Manufacturing, Electrical, Industrial Engineering, or a related field.
- •Experience: 10+ years of experience in process or manufacturing engineering within the automotive industry, with direct experience handling automotive sensors, ECUs or complex electronic assemblies.
- •Technical Skills: Deep understanding of "build to print" manufacturing models, automated assembly processes, testing/calibration of sensors, and automotive core tools (APQP, PPAP, PFMEA, SPC, MSA).
- •Supplier Management: Proven ability to drive Tier 1/Tier 2 suppliers and equipment integrators to meet strict launch deadlines and quality metrics.
- •Commercial Acumen: Hands-on experience reviewing, negotiating, and executing technical contracts, SOWs, and capital equipment agreements.
- •Program Management: Strong project management skills. PMP certification is a strong plus.
We prefer
- •Advanced Manufacturing Experience: Hands-on experience with automation, active alignment (AA) of optical lenses, precision automated adhesive/TIM dispensing, UV curing, wire bonding, or cleanroom manufacturing (ISO Class 5-7).
- •Specialized Testing Knowledge: Familiarity with end-of-line (EOL) functional testing for ECUs, optical target rooms for cameras/LiDAR, or RF testing in anechoic chambers for radar.
- •Certifications: Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt certification.
- •Software Proficiency: Experience using statistical analysis software (e.g., Minitab, JMP) to analyze supplier yield data, and basic proficiency in CAD (e.g., CATIA, SolidWorks) to review engineering prints and supplier DFM feedback.
- •Industry Standards: Deep working knowledge of TS16949, ISO 26262 (Functional Safety) and ASPICE, specifically how they dictate manufacturing traceability, serialization, and line-side controls.
Travel
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