Senior Robot Perception Engineer

Field AI is transforming how robots interact with the real world by building risk-aware, reliable AI systems for complex robotics challenges. They are seeking a Senior Robot Perception Engineer to lead the development of perception capabilities for robots operating in unstructured terrains, focusing on performance, robustness, and deployment of perception systems.

Responsibilities:

• Design, implement, and maintain perception systems for autonomous robots operating in real-world environments
• Develop robust localization and mapping capabilities that perform reliably in unstructured, off-road, and field conditions
• Continuously evaluate and improve perception performance through testing, iteration, and field validation
• Implement perception algorithms that fuse data from multiple sensors such as LiDAR, cameras, RADAR and inertial sensors
• Support the integration of new sensing modalities and sensor configurations as robotic platforms evolve
• Ensure perception software operates reliably across simulation and real-world deployments
• Bring perception algorithms from development to deployment on physical robotic systems
• Debug and resolve issues discovered during on-robot testing and field operations
• Collaborate with autonomy, controls, and platform teams to ensure perception systems integrate cleanly into the full autonomy stack
• Contribute to code quality, testing, and long-term maintainability of perception systems
• Develop tools, metrics, and tests to monitor performance and catch regressions over time
• Help scale perception solutions across multiple robots, environments, and missions
• Work closely with engineers, researchers, and operators to define perception requirements and deliver reliable solutions
• Communicate technical designs, tradeoffs, and results clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Support field operations and customer demonstrations by ensuring perception systems are production-ready

Requirements:

• PhD degree in Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field or MS degree in a related field with 2+ years of industry or applied research experience, or BS degree in a related field with 4+ years of relevant experience
• Strong background in robot perception, localization, and mapping (SLAM) for real-world robotic systems
• Hands-on experience developing and deploying perception software in field robotics environments (not just simulation)
• Proficiency in modern robotics software development (C++, Python) and ROS/ROS2 based systems
• Experience working with robot perception and state estimation (VIO, LIO, mapping, sensor fusion etc)
• Ability to take ownership of complex subsystems, from design through field deployment and long-term maintenance
• Comfort working close to hardware, including debugging sensor data, calibration, and real-world failures
• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to operate independently in fast-moving, small teams
• Experience with thermal, LWIR, or multispectral passive sensing for robotic perception
• Experience integrating and calibrating custom sensor rigs (e.g., stereo, thermal, or multi-LiDAR setups)
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines, performance regression testing, and benchmarking for perception systems
• Experience aligning or unifying perception stacks across multiple platforms or product lines
• Demonstrated leadership in research, field operations, or mentoring junior engineers and researchers
• Knowledge of containerization (Docker, Kubernetes) and modern DevOps practices