Principal Software Engineer, Perception
Summary
Principal engineer setting the technical direction for perception (sensor fusion, localization, tracking, mapping) on autonomous maritime vehicles, turning radar/camera sensor data into reliable outputs under edge-compute and latency constraints. Hybrid role in Alameda, CA; hands-on C++/Python work, architecture leadership, and mentoring. $300k–$380k base.
About the Role
Join the perception team at a maritime autonomy company and set the technical direction for perception systems on autonomous vehicles. You will help turn complex sensor data into reliable information that supports safe vehicle behavior in challenging ocean environments.
What You'll Do
Define the architecture for sensor fusion, localization, tracking, mapping, and uncertainty estimation.
Integrate radar, cameras, and other sensor modalities into reliable perception outputs for downstream autonomy systems.
Partner with autonomy, navigation, and applied machine learning teams to support safe vehicle behavior.
Translate research and algorithms into production software that meets edge-compute, latency, sensor, and environmental constraints.
Guide technical decisions and reviews, contribute hands-on to complex problems, and mentor senior and staff engineers.
Develop data-labeling strategies, ground-truth datasets, and evaluation frameworks to improve system performance.
Contribute technical leadership to hiring and help grow the perception team.
What We're Looking For
At least 8 years of perception or robotics engineering experience, including work at staff level or equivalent.
Proven ownership of production perception systems for autonomous vehicles or robots, including sensor fusion, localization, or estimation.
Strong expertise in robotics or autonomous-systems perception, including state estimation, tracking, mapping, probabilistic estimation, and uncertainty modeling.
Strong mathematical and algorithmic foundations in computer vision, machine learning, and related fields.
Experience deploying onboard software and running inference on constrained edge compute, with real-time or latency requirements.
Proficiency with C++ and Python; familiarity with NVIDIA Jetson, radar, camera systems, SLAM, and simulation is relevant.
Experience setting architecture and technical direction for complex autonomous systems; maritime autonomy, multiple sensor modalities, and fleet deployments are valuable.
Must be a U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident. Visa sponsorship or transfer is not available.
Compensation & Benefits
Base salary is $300,000 to $380,000 USD annually. Visa sponsorship is not available.
Location
Hybrid role based in Alameda, California, United States.
Skills
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