Perception Engineer for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles

Vatn Systems; Bristol; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Vatn Systems in Bristol, United Kingdom, is seeking a Perception Engineer to advance the perception stack for our autonomous underwater vehicles. You will work with sonar and image data, implement real-time pipelines, and integrate perception with autonomy features.

The role requires strong Python and C++, ROS/ROS 2 experience, and a hands-on approach to testing on-site, with opportunities to tackle challenging 3D sensor fusion, tracking, and validation across hardware platforms.

Qualifications

• 3–5 years of robotics perception, CV, or autonomous systems experience.
• Strong Python skills for prototyping, scripting, and ML workflows.
• Solid ROS / ROS 2 experience with production robotic systems.
• Proficient in C++ for real-time robotics software.
• Experience with 3D sensor data (LiDAR, depth estimation, or multi-sensor fusion); marine sensing is a plus.
• Experience with deep learning frameworks (PyTorch preferred) for detection/segmentation.
• Understanding of 3D geometry, sensor calibration, and coordinate frames.
• Willingness to work on-site and participate in physical vehicle test sessions.
• US Citizen and ability to gain a security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Implement and maintain real-time perception pipelines on autonomous vehicle platforms.
• Develop algorithms for obstacle detection, classification, and multi-object tracking.
• Write and maintain ROS 2 nodes and packages for on-vehicle perception software.
• Utilize Python and C++ to develop and implement algorithms for obstacle detection, classification, and multi-object tracking.
• Participate in on-site vehicle testing and debugging of real-world perception failures.
• Collaborate with localization, prediction, and planning teams to ensure clean perception interfaces.

Skills

Python

ROS / ROS 2

C++

3D sensor data

PyTorch

Deep learning

3D geometry

US Citizenship

On-site testing

Job description

Vatn Systems in Bristol, United Kingdom, is seeking a Perception Engineer to advance the perception stack for our autonomous underwater vehicles. You will work with sonar and image data, implement real-time pipelines, and integrate perception with autonomy features.

The role requires strong Python and C++, ROS/ROS 2 experience, and a hands-on approach to testing on-site, with opportunities to tackle challenging 3D sensor fusion, tracking, and validation across hardware platforms.