Does Waymo sponsor visas — and what does it pay?
Waymo filed 290 certified labour condition applications with the US Department of Labor between 1 October 2025 to 30 June 2026, covering 290 worker positions. Every wage below is a figure Waymo put in front of a federal agency, not a number from a job advert.
Source: US Department of Labor, FY2026 Q3 disclosure data
Read both columns together. Paying the prevailing wage is legal and normal — it is the floor Congress set, not a loophole. The employer also chooses the wage level (I–IV) on the form, and a senior level carries a higher floor, so a wide margin above the floor can reflect the level selected rather than generosity. Read the two columns together, and treat neither as evidence of wrongdoing.
$205k
Median wage filed
$188k
Median legal floor
9%
Above the floor
290
Certified filings
How close to the legal minimum?
Of 290 certified filings, 3 (1%) were at or within 1% of the prevailing wage — the lowest figure Waymo was legally permitted to offer for that role, in that location, at that skill level. Nationally the figure is 41%.
Wage levels selected
The employer chooses this level on the form, and it sets the legal floor. Level I is entry, Level IV is fully competent.
| Level | Filings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Level I | 8 | 3% |
| Level II | 127 | 52% |
| Level III | 60 | 25% |
| Level IV | 47 | 19% |
Most-filed job titles
| Job title | Filings |
|---|---|
| Software Engineer | 160 |
| Machine Learning Engineer | 11 |
| Research Scientist | 8 |
| Product Manager | 6 |
| Data Scientist | 6 |
| Researcher | 6 |
| Systems Engineer | 4 |
| Technical Program Manager | 4 |
| Product Data Scientist | 3 |
| Technical Program Manager, Commercialization | 3 |
| Machine Learning Engineer, Mapping | 2 |
| Business Data Scientist | 2 |
Where the work is
| Worksite | Filings |
|---|---|
| Mountain View, CA | 238 |
| San Francisco, CA | 24 |
| New York, NY | 16 |
| Kirkland, WA | 5 |
| Austin, TX | 2 |
| Bellevue, WA | 1 |
| Syracuse, NY | 1 |
| Washington, D.C., DC | 1 |
Open roles at Waymo right now
| Role | Location | Team | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software Engineer, Marketplace Logistic new | Mountain View, CA, United States | CSI (7LV) | $175k – $215k |
| Software Engineer, Compute Systems | Taipei, Taiwan; Hsinchu, Taiwan | Compute (7LR) | 2 days ago |
| Senior Vehicle Structures Engineer | Mountain View, CA, USA;Novi, MI, USA | Hardware Engineering | $198k – $248k |
| Staff Software Quality Safety Operations Specialist | Mountain View, CA, United States; Remote, United States | MPCI (SQZ) | $190k – $234k |
| Perception Machine Learning Engineer - Continuous Learning | Mountain View, CA, USA; San Francisco, CA, USA | Perception (7LT) | $175k – $215k |
| Staff Hardware Reliability Engineer | Mountain View, California, USA | Reliability (7FZ) | $210k – $259k |
| Global Threat Intelligence Regional Lead - Europe | London, United Kingdom, UK | GPS Offices/Labs/Mfg (69Z) | £88k – £92k |
| Security Technology Specialist | London, United Kingdom, UK | GPS Offices/Labs/Mfg (69Z) | £88k – £92k |
| Senior Seating and Restraints Architecture Engineer | Mountain View, CA, US | Vehicle (75W) | $196k – $242k |
| Japan Vehicle Recovery, Safety, & Logistics 日本の車両リカバリー、安全性、物流. | Tokyo, Japan | RHO - Market Mgmt (GWE) | 8 days ago |
| Lead Noise, Vibration, and Harshness (NVH) Engineer | Mountain View, California, USA | Vehicle (75W) | $230k – $284k |
| Senior Vehicle Interior Engineer | Mountain View, Ca USA;Novi, Mi, USA | Vehicle (75W) | $196k – $248k |
| ML Engineer, Foundation Model Recipes | Mountain View, CA, USA; San Francisco, CA, USA; Kirkland, WA, USA; New York, NY, USA | AI Foundations (7SJ) | $175k – $215k |
| ML ASIC Design Engineer | Mountain View, California; New York City, NY | Compute (7LR) | $175k – $215k |
| Staff ML Engineer, Perception Research | Mountain View, CA, USA ; New York City, NY, USA ; Kirkland, WA, USA ; San Francisco, CA, USA | AI Foundations (7SJ) | $251k – $310k |
| Structured Testing Vendor Engineering Lead | Mountain View, CA, USA | Systems (78I) | $230k – $284k |
| International Creative Studio Lead | San Francisco, CA, USA; Mountain View, CA, USA; Los Angeles, CA, USA | O-Marketing-Corp (0K5) | $210k – $259k |
| System Disruption Manager インシデントマネージャー | Tokyo Japan | RHO - Operations Center (M6D) | 12 days ago |
| Staff Software Engineer, Collision Avoidance Testing | Mountain View, Ca, USA;San Francisco, Ca, USA | Systems (78I) | $251k – $310k |
| ML Engineer, Foundation Model Infrastructure | Mountain View, CA, USA; San Francisco, CA, USA; Kirkland, WA, USA; New York, NY, USA | AI Foundations (7SJ) | $175k – $215k |
| Staff Systems Test Engineer, Scenario Quality and Maintenance Systems | Mountain View, CA, USA; San Francisco, CA, USA | Scenarios (SQE) | $230k – $284k |
| Technical Program Manager, Vehicle Security | Novi, Michigan, United States | Product (78L) | $196k – $242k |
| Staff SoC Design Engineer | Mountain View, CA, USA | Compute (7LR) | $251k – $310k |
| Senior Staff TL, Chassis | Warsaw, Poland | CSI (7LV) | 14 days ago |
| Staff Systems Engineer, Driving Behaviors | Mountain View, CA, USA; San Francisco, CA, USA | Systems (78I) | $230k – $284k |
| Operations Controller | London, United Kingdom | RHO - Operations Center (M6D) | £142k – £149k |
| Strategy Manager | Mountain View, CA, USA; San Francisco, CA, USA; New York City, New York, USA | Strategy/BizOps (69X) | $210k – $259k |
| Staff Research Scientist, Foundation Models Recipes | Mountain View, CA; San Francisco, CA; Kirkland, WA | AI Foundations (7SJ) | $251k – $310k |
| Insurance Risk Management Analyst | Mountain View, CA, USA | O-Insur-Corp (6A1) | $125k – $152k |
| Strategic Partnerships Development Manager - Telco Partnerships | Mountain View, California, USA; San Francisco, California, USA; New York City, New York, USA | Partnerships/BD (PPL) | $177k – $218k |
| Strategic Partner Development Manager, Payments Partnerships | New York City, New York, USA; San Francisco, California, USA | Partnerships/BD (PPL) | $177k – $218k |
| Senior Accountant | Mountain View, CA, USA | Finance (64L) | $159k – $196k |
| Accountant | Mountain View, CA, USA | Finance (64L) | $130k – $160k |
| Senior Product Manager, Simulation | Mountain View, CA, US; San Francisco, CA, US | Product (78L) | $241k – $297k |
| Senior Research Scientist, AI Foundations Recipes | Oxford, UK ; London, UK | AI Foundations (7SJ) | £123k – £129k |
| Operations Partner Manager | Mountain View, CA, USA; San Francisco, CA, USA | RHO - Market Mgmt (GWE) | $159k – $196k |
| Vehicle Systems Safety | Mountain View CA USA; San Francisco CA USA; Kirkland WA USA | Safety (7GB) | $204k – $252k |
| Safety Engineer | Mountain View CA USA; San Francisco CA USA | Safety (7GB) | $204k – $252k |
| Product Manager, Driving Performance Expansion | Mountain View, CA, USA; San Francisco, CA, USA; New York, NY | Product (78L) | $204k – $252k |
| People Operations Program Manager – People Systems & Process Design | Mountain View, CA, USA | HR (67F) | $159k – $196k |
Checking this yourself. The FY2026 file is a public download from the Department of Labor. Search it for “Waymo LLC”. Figures here cover certified applications only; withdrawn and denied applications are excluded.
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