Network Security Engineer Jobs in Illinois

INTRODUCTION

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.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Business Systems team defines and builds the business IT architecture that supports the commercial operation of Waymo's autonomous fleet. The team stands at the intersection of finance, operations and IT; through creative architecture, expertise and attention to detail, it ensures that Waymo has world-class capabilities across all its business processes.

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

YOUR ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Strategic Design & Implementation: Design and implement multi-quarter network security projects across large-scale WiFi environments and data centers, driving outcomes as a key contributor and subject matter expert from concept through deployment.
• Production Network Design & Planning: Create and review Engineering Design Plans (EDPs) for sites, collaborating closely with the greater Waymo network team to design overarching architectures that align with company security and design guidelines.
• Operational Excellence & Automation: Proactively monitor production network performance to triage issues, building new processes and tools to scale systems while aligning on shared objectives with the broader networking discipline.
• Framework Development & Procedure Oversight: Establish comprehensive security frameworks, standards, policies, and baselines across diverse network environments to bolster security posture, optimize performance, and mitigate operational risks. Create and maintain Method of Procedures (MOPs) to provide clear guidance for internal teams and external partners.
• Threat Modeling & Assessments: Perform proactive security evaluations and threat modeling for network infrastructure, products, and services. Work in close partnership with the broader Waymo network and cross-functional teams to coordinate resources and provide technical and non-technical stakeholders with actionable strategies for risk mitigation.
• Cross-Functional Leadership & Regional Site Ownership: Serve as the primary technical owner for network sites within a designated market territory, maintaining a consistent physical presence at field locations and the operations center. Responsible for establishing new sites, managing colocation data center racks, and providing hands-on support. Collaborate with Product, Operations, Facilities Management, and external partners to coordinate resources and deliver robust network security outcomes.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 10 years of experience with network routing protocols, design, and troubleshooting with network equipment providers.
• 5+ years of hands-on experience designing, implementing, and securing large-scale datacenter environments and enterprise networks (LAN, WAN, WLAN, WiFi).
• Demonstrated ability to act as a subject matter expert in network capacity planning, security principles, and infrastructure management best practices.
• Experience installing and troubleshooting wireless and/or optical networks.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Experience with planning and designing complex, large-scale networks encompassing multiple sites and products.
• Experience in network security engineering, security assessment, vulnerability management, and threat modeling to deliver organization-wide security programs.
• Proven ability to work with and influence cross-functional teams with similar objectives to align resources and drive positive security outcomes.
• Experience developing architectural patterns with several reusable components to drive security at scale in enterprise environments.
• Familiarity with network automation tools in a CI/CD environment (e.g., Terraform, Ansible, Python).
• Ability to independently determine the optimal approach to solving deep and ambiguous technical network problems.
• Experience working in a team-oriented, collaborative environment using Google workspace tools.

Travel Requirements

Yes; ability to travel to sites within operational responsibilities region and outside to new metro sites (25-30%).

COMPENSATION

• Salary Range: $175,000—$215,000 USD

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.