I'm thrilled to join Waymo as Chief Safety Officer, where safety is at the heart of the mission to expand access to mobility and save lives. Over the last 20 years, I've designed, tested, and deployed complex systems, and most recently served as Vice President of Safety, Quality, and Mission Assurance for Virgin Orbit. Prior to that, I served as Director of Safety and Mission Assurance for the Boeing Commercial Crew Program. I also held various leadership positions within Boeing's Space Division, designing and launching commercial and government satellites.
For any emerging technology to be trusted, it helps to first be understood. In the past, people could see how their cars worked, looking under the hood and tinkering with them with the help of a user manual. In 2020, vehicles have so much technology that they’ve become difficult for the general public to comprehend. We want to change that. With this blog series, we’ll unpack the different parts of our technology stack to explain the fundamentals of self-driving technology. How does the Waymo Driver perceive the world? How does it learn to understand its surroundings? How can it predict the intentions of other drivers and pedestrians? And how does it keep our riders safe? We’re starting with one of the foundational questions: how does a self-driving car know where it is? 
