Entry Level AI/ML Researcher Jobs
New grad ai/ml researcher jobs are open to recent graduates and entry level candidates with zero to two years of experience, where a strong portfolio of personal projects or internship work can carry more weight than a lengthy resume. Most openings are Technology & Software, Electronics & Hardware, and Artificial Intelligence roles with employers like Apple, Google, and Scale AI hiring at this level now.
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MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES. SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES. NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
FULL-TIME
SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
5053
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 Planner Evaluation team works on one of the key challenges in autonomous driving: measuring and improving the quality of the software that drives the car. We are looking for experienced data-minded software engineers and data scientists to help us improve how we characterize and evaluate changes to the Onboard software stack (Planner, Perception, etc). If you are passionate about autonomous vehicles and how to use rich, complex data to drive decision making, this is the role for you!
This role follows a hybrid work schedule and reports to an Engineering Manager.
You will:
- Develop signals to measure the performance and driving qualities of the Waymo driver, using a range of techniques including statistics, math, physics, algorithms and machine learning.
- Use simulation creatively and mine real world driving logs to measure driving performance.
- Design and implement methods to make a stronger connection between onboard software changes and simulated outcomes.
- Champion code health and best practices in a large and complex code base.
- Analyze data and make recommendations on how to improve metric quality and interpretability.
- Collaborate with other engineers, data scientists, statisticians and the leadership team to deliver evaluation products and help make data driven decisions.
You have:
- BS in Computer Science, Robotics, Statistics, Physics, Math or another quantitative area
- Strong self-motivation to navigate complex systems and pursue open-ended problems to completion
- 2-3 years of industry experience with
- Navigating and modifying a large code base containing a variety of languages, such as C++, Python and SQL
- Performing statistical analyses
- Building data processing pipelines
- Writing, reviewing, and merging code following industry standards for code health and maintainability
- Quant/data fluency is a top requirement
We prefer:
- Experience coding in C++
- Experience with ML
- Experience with A/B experiment infrastructure
- Experience building and validating metrics to measure quality in complex systems
- Exposure to ad-hoc data analysis tools for rapid modeling and prototyping
- Experience working in the AV industry
#LI-Hybrid
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.
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES. SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES. NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
FULL-TIME
SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
5053
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 Planner Evaluation team works on one of the key challenges in autonomous driving: measuring and improving the quality of the software that drives the car. We are looking for experienced data-minded software engineers and data scientists to help us improve how we characterize and evaluate changes to the Onboard software stack (Planner, Perception, etc). If you are passionate about autonomous vehicles and how to use rich, complex data to drive decision making, this is the role for you!
This role follows a hybrid work schedule and reports to an Engineering Manager.
You will:
- Develop signals to measure the performance and driving qualities of the Waymo driver, using a range of techniques including statistics, math, physics, algorithms and machine learning.
- Use simulation creatively and mine real world driving logs to measure driving performance.
- Design and implement methods to make a stronger connection between onboard software changes and simulated outcomes.
- Champion code health and best practices in a large and complex code base.
- Analyze data and make recommendations on how to improve metric quality and interpretability.
- Collaborate with other engineers, data scientists, statisticians and the leadership team to deliver evaluation products and help make data driven decisions.
You have:
- BS in Computer Science, Robotics, Statistics, Physics, Math or another quantitative area
- Strong self-motivation to navigate complex systems and pursue open-ended problems to completion
- 2-3 years of industry experience with
- Navigating and modifying a large code base containing a variety of languages, such as C++, Python and SQL
- Performing statistical analyses
- Building data processing pipelines
- Writing, reviewing, and merging code following industry standards for code health and maintainability
- Quant/data fluency is a top requirement
We prefer:
- Experience coding in C++
- Experience with ML
- Experience with A/B experiment infrastructure
- Experience building and validating metrics to measure quality in complex systems
- Exposure to ad-hoc data analysis tools for rapid modeling and prototyping
- Experience working in the AV industry
#LI-Hybrid
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.
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Entry Level AI/ML Researcher Jobs: Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get an entry level ai/ml researcher job?
Employers hiring entry level ai/ml researchers look for hands-on evidence of skills over credentials alone. A GitHub portfolio with machine learning projects, coursework in deep learning or natural language processing, and any internship or research assistant experience give candidates a clear edge. Familiarity with Python, PyTorch, or TensorFlow and the ability to explain your methodology in writing rounds out what most hiring teams want to see at this stage.
Which companies hire entry level ai/ml researchers?
Companies hiring entry level ai/ml researchers right now include Apple, Google, and Scale AI, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of July 2026. Hiring at this level comes from a mix of technology companies, AI-focused startups, and large enterprises building internal research teams.
Are there remote entry level ai/ml researcher jobs?
Yes, though on-site and hybrid openings still make up a significant share of postings. About 21% of entry level ai/ml researcher openings are remote or hybrid as of July 2026, so candidates who prefer flexibility have real options alongside the traditional in-person roles.
Are these new grad ai/ml researcher jobs?
Yes, the listings here include new grad, recent graduate, and junior ai/ml researcher roles. A posting is new-grad friendly when it welcomes zero to two years of experience, accepts internship or research project work in place of full-time history, or calls out a portfolio as an acceptable alternative to a conventional resume. Searching for junior or new grad alongside the role title surfaces those openings most reliably.
Which industries hire the most entry level ai/ml researchers?
Entry Level ai/ml researcher roles concentrate in Technology & Software, Electronics & Hardware, and Artificial Intelligence, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of July 2026. Those sectors drive hiring at this level because they are actively building or expanding AI research functions and tend to recruit recent graduates to grow alongside their teams.