Arizona residents who are passionate about driving, autonomous cars and making money are looking at a job opportunity from Google.
The company is recruiting "vehicle safety specialists" who have to sit behind the wheel of the self-driving autos, ready to intervene should anything go south. The move comes as Google adds more cars to its fleet roaming the streets of Arizona.
The search engine company offers $20 per hour to the brave souls who will venture in the monitoring of autonomous vehicles. Additional details are as follows: drivers will work under 12- to 24-month contracts that come with a non-disclosure agreement, meaning that all information they come across during work hours must stay hidden.
The job description reads that drivers must submit "concise written and oral feedback to the engineering team."
To qualify for an interview, applicants should have as follows: a spotless driving record, no criminal activities on board and a bachelor's degree.
"Excellent written communication skills. Must be able to type at least 40 wpm (words per minute)," Google asks of its job applicants. This could be the only instance when texting and driving is not only permitted but also encouraged. The new employees will work in small groups made of two to 10 people or individually. Prior to getting behind the wheel, selected drivers will get tested in a few of in- and out-of-car training courses.
"There isn't a particular type of person that we look for," says the leader of operations for Google's Self-Driving Car testing program, Brian Torcellini.
He goes on to say that Google hires people from various professional backgrounds, ranging from welders to teachers.
At the beginning of April 2016, Google proudly announced that its autonomous vehicle program expanded to Arizona. The company is eager to discover how the fleet will function in desert conditions.
Google already tested its driverless cars in Kirkland, Washington, where it saw how they fared in rainy weather. Previous testing grounds were the Google's backyard at Mountain View, California, and Austin, Texas.
"Arizona is known as a place where research and development is welcome," notes Jennifer Haroon, the leader of business operations for the Google Self-Driving Car Project.
An important detail is that Arizona drivers will get to sit in the Lexus model and not in Google's proprietary compact vehicle.
