This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Perception Engineer III based in the United States.
This role offers the opportunity to develop advanced perception systems that power next-generation autonomous aircraft capabilities.
You will serve as a technical leader within a robotics program, designing solutions that transform complex sensor data into actionable intelligence.
The position combines robotics, artificial intelligence, embedded software, and state estimation to solve challenging real-world problems.
You will own key perception architectures while contributing reusable technologies across autonomous platforms.
Working alongside multidisciplinary engineering teams, you will influence system design from concept through deployment and field validation.
This is an opportunity to contribute to innovative aerospace technology in a fast-moving, mission-focused environment.
This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Perception Engineer III based in the United States.
This role offers the opportunity to develop advanced perception systems that power next-generation autonomous aircraft capabilities.
You will serve as a technical leader within a robotics program, designing solutions that transform complex sensor data into actionable intelligence.
The position combines robotics, artificial intelligence, embedded software, and state estimation to solve challenging real-world problems.
You will own key perception architectures while contributing reusable technologies across autonomous platforms.
Working alongside multidisciplinary engineering teams, you will influence system design from concept through deployment and field validation.
This is an opportunity to contribute to innovative aerospace technology in a fast-moving, mission-focused environment.
Accountabilities:
- Design and develop perception pipelines for target detection, tracking, and state estimation under challenging operational conditions.
- Build and optimize nonlinear estimation systems, including EKF, UKF, and particle filter-based approaches for real-world applications.
- Develop world modeling solutions that combine self-state, target information, terrain data, threats, and mission context into unified representations.
- Integrate sensor fusion outputs from technologies such as SLAM, VIO, and tracking systems into coherent perception architectures.
- Define perception interfaces for autonomy systems, including state representation, uncertainty handling, coordinate frames, and data freshness.
- Own perception architecture decisions and collaborate with autonomy, guidance, and mission software teams.
- Develop ROS2 nodes, libraries, and DDS-based communication structures for scalable perception capabilities.
- Optimize C++ perception software for embedded environments with real-time performance constraints.
- Analyze compute, memory, and hardware requirements to determine effective deployment strategies across CPUs, GPUs, and accelerators.
- Support system integration, hardware-in-the-loop testing, and field validation activities.
- Create technical documentation, architecture proposals, and trade studies to guide engineering decisions.
- Mentor junior engineers through technical guidance, reviews, and knowledge sharing.
- Bachelor’s degree in Robotics, Aerospace Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Applied Mathematics, or a related technical field; equivalent industry experience also considered.
- 6+ years of experience in robotics perception, state estimation, sensor fusion, or related autonomous systems development.
- Strong proficiency in modern C++ for real-time embedded systems, including performance optimization and memory management.
- Hands-on experience with ROS2 and DDS-based middleware in production or delivered systems.
- Demonstrated experience developing and tuning nonlinear state estimators such as EKF, UKF, or particle filters.
- Strong understanding of linear algebra, probability, coordinate transformations, and estimation theory.
- Experience with at least one of the following areas: target tracking, SLAM, VIO, or multi-sensor fusion.
- Experience deploying perception software on embedded computing platforms.
- Ability to take ownership of technical subsystems from architecture definition through delivery.
- Strong communication skills with the ability to explain technical trade-offs to both engineers and stakeholders.
- Experience with seeker systems, defense-related perception, guidance systems, or autonomous platforms is a plus.
- Familiarity with WOSA, MOSA, DDS optimization, NVIDIA Jetson platforms, CUDA, TensorRT, PX4, ArduPilot, or perception frameworks is desirable.
- Ability to obtain or maintain required security clearance eligibility is preferred.
- Competitive compensation package with a salary range of approximately $155,000 - $185,000 USD.
- Comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, and life insurance options.
- 401(k) plan with company matching contributions.
- Four weeks of paid time off annually.
- Twelve company-paid holidays each year.
- Opportunity to work on cutting-edge autonomous aircraft and aerospace technologies.
- Collaborative environment with experienced engineers and technical innovators.
- Career growth opportunities within a rapidly expanding technology organization.
The Perception Engineer III will lead the design, development, and delivery of advanced perception capabilities for autonomous systems. This role requires strong technical ownership, collaboration across engineering disciplines, and the ability to translate mission requirements into reliable production-ready solutions.
Requirements:
The ideal candidate is an experienced robotics and perception engineer with a strong foundation in estimation theory, embedded software development, and autonomous systems. They should be comfortable owning complex technical projects and communicating effectively across engineering and program teams.