Google’s self-driving car project has a long history of creating out-of-the-ordinary conditions, including threatening to disrupt a century-old industry. Not terribly long ago, Google gave an inside look at what it would take to drive one of their self-driving cars on their obstacle course in Mountain View. The project brought people from all walks of life with a wide variety of qualifications into the arena to maintain whatever control was necessary over one of Google’s own self-driving car prototypes while it made its way around the specially designed course. The newest job posting about the project, however, lists some less specific requirements.
According to the job posting on Glassdoor, the contract position’s main requirements are a clean driving record and sealed lips. Whatever Google plans to have applicants working on, they want it kept confidential. Listed by Addeco Staffing out of Mountain View, the 12-month position entails operating a self-driving vehicle for 6 to 8 hours per day and giving detailed feedback to the engineering team via various high and low tech mediums. Google expects staffers to behave in a courteous, professional and, of course, safety-minded manner. They’ll also need to be comfortable with fast-paced work; the listing says that applicants may have to manage up to four communication channels simultaneously. Applicants will also have to be open to travelling, up to a month at a time, indicating the possibility of testing outside of Mountain View.
The job posting isn’t terribly specific beyond the duties and the two basic requirements, which means those who don’t have the chops to sign on as full-time Googlers may find a foot in the door here. The posting seems to indicate that the main role of an applicant would be to collect data that the car’s sensors wouldn’t be able to pick up on their own, though what that data may be is left to the imagination. With self-driving cars still in the process of perfecting their software and gaining favor with the government in various places, it makes sense for a position to pop up that would place a skilled, perceptive person in the driver’s seat during testing.