Machine Learning Engineer

About The Company

Rocket Lab is a pioneering end-to-end space company dedicated to building rockets, spacecraft, and critical subsystems that maintain global connectivity and protection while expanding humanity's reach to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Known for rapid innovation and building real hardware for meaningful missions, Rocket Lab turns the impossible into routine achievements. The Space Systems division focuses on delivering complete spacecraft, precision payloads, and essential components such as solar panels, flight software, star trackers, optical systems, separation systems, and radios. With more than 1,700 missions supported, including interplanetary exploration and national security initiatives, Rocket Lab collaborates with partners such as NASA, the Space Development Agency, and the U.S. Space Force to empower bold and ambitious space endeavors.

About The Role

We are seeking a Principal Machine Learning Engineer to join Rocket Lab Optical Systems in Long Beach, CA. This role is integral to supporting Tranche 3 of the U.S. Space Development Agency’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) by designing, training, and deploying deep learning neural networks for advanced Electro-Optical (EO/IR) image processing. The successful candidate will apply machine learning expertise to solve critical space domain and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) challenges for Department of Defense and Intelligence Community customers. This position offers the opportunity to contribute to innovative sensing solutions across orbital domains and collaborate with a team of researchers and engineers working on cutting-edge artificial intelligence and computer vision technologies.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree with 12+ years of experience, or a Master’s/Ph.D. in Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, or a related field
• Strong expertise in machine learning, including model selection, architecture design, training, validation, testing, and deployment
• Proven experience building deep learning neural networks for computer vision, image processing, or video analysis (e.g., object detection, image segmentation, tracking)
• Solid mathematical foundation, especially in linear algebra
• Proficiency in Python programming language
• Hands-on experience with deep learning frameworks such as Keras, TensorFlow, and PyTorch
• Strong software engineering fundamentals, including version control, testing, CI/CD pipelines, and containerization
• U.S. citizenship is required due to program regulations
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Security Clearance

Preferred Qualifications

• Proficiency in C, C++, or Rust programming languages
• Experience curating high-quality, real-world datasets for training deep learning models
• Possession of TS/SCI security clearance

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, train, and deploy machine learning models tailored for Optical Systems applications
• Build and maintain end-to-end ML pipelines encompassing data ingestion, feature engineering, training, and inference
• Collaborate closely with researchers and engineers specializing in AI, machine learning, and computer vision to drive innovation
• Conduct rapid prototyping and iterative development to integrate solutions into operational systems
• Troubleshoot, debug, and maintain both existing and newly developed systems
• Stay abreast of the latest ML research, evaluating new tools, frameworks, and methodologies for potential adoption

Benefits

• Competitive base salary and anticipated annual equity grants based on role, experience, and performance
• Employee Stock Purchase Program with a 15% discount on company stock
• Comprehensive medical plans including HMO, PPO, and zero-cost HDHP with significant Health Savings Account (HSA) contributions
• Dental and vision coverage
• Paid vacation, sick time, and 11 paid holidays annually
• Flexible spending and dependent care accounts
• Paid parental leave
• Disability and life insurance
• 401(k) retirement plan with company match
• Additional perks such as subsidized electric vehicle charging, onsite fitness centers (where available), discounted gym memberships, complimentary snacks and beverages, and a 50% employee discount on company merchandise

Equal Opportunity

Rocket Lab is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workforce. We provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. This policy applies to all aspects of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training. We encourage applicants requiring reasonable accommodation during the application or interview process to contact our dedicated resources for assistance.