Principal Perception Software Engineer

About the Role

We are seeking a Principal Perception Engineer to define the technical vision and architecture for a world-class fleet of fielded autonomous platforms operating in challenging real-world environments.

In this domain, perception goes far beyond standard urban autonomous driving—requiring novel approaches to multi-modal sensor fusion, high-clutter dynamic conditions, low-light/nighttime sensing, and edge optimization under strict hardware constraints. Operating with broad technical authority on a focused engineering team, you will collaborate closely with cross-functional leadership and work steps away from hardware test facilities.

What You’ll Do

• Define Technical Architecture: Design and scale the core perception stack, including multi-sensor fusion, state estimation, spatial tracking, mapping, and uncertainty modeling.
• Integrate Heterogeneous Sensors: Combine inputs across multiple sensor modalities (e.g., radar, thermal/IR, optical, and custom edge hardware) into unified situational awareness streams.
• Bridge Research to Production: Deploy state-of-the-art perception algorithms and neural networks onto constrained, real-time edge compute platforms.
• Cross-Functional Autonomy: Partner with navigation, autonomy, applied ML, and hardware teams to ensure high-confidence perception outputs directly drive mission-critical behavior.
• Technical Leadership: Set engineering standards, conduct architectural reviews, and mentor senior and staff-level engineers to uplevel overall team capabilities.
• Data Engine & Evaluation: Oversee dataset curation strategies, ground-truth generation, and automated evaluation frameworks to continuously benchmark system performance.

Core Qualifications

• US Person Status: Must be a US Citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident / Green Card holder (no visa sponsorship or transfer available).
• Production Hardware Deployments: Proven track record of architecting and shipping real-time perception systems that operate on physical physical edge hardware (AVs, robotics, defense, aerospace, or unmanned platforms).
• Deep Domain Expertise: Master-level experience in sensor fusion, probabilistic state estimation, tracking, mapping, or uncertainty propagation.
• Senior/Staff+ Leadership: 8+ years of professional robotics or computer vision engineering experience, including setting technical direction at a Staff level or above.
• Industry Background: Track record at leading autonomous vehicle, defense technology, aerospace, or advanced robotics companies.
• Software Mastery: Strong proficiency in C++ and Python for high-performance edge software.
• On-Site Collaboration: Ability to work hybrid (3 days/week on-site) in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Preferred Experience

• Master's or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.
• Experience handling dynamic surface/fluids, multi-modal radar, or low-light environmental conditions.
• Experience optimizing models for constrained edge hardware and tight latency budgets.