Applications Engineer, San Francisco

Overview; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k)

Generous PTO

Job summary

Overview.ai in San Francisco designs AI-powered vision systems for manufacturing. This role blends hands-on lab work with live customer applications, driving real-world impact on production lines.

You’ll optimize cameras, lenses, and lighting for AI inspections, build proofs of concept, and troubleshoot deployments on customer sites. The work spans lab to factory floor, delivering tangible improvements in defect detection and yield.

Qualifications

• 1 to 3+ years in machine vision or related field.
• Strong hands-on grasp of machine vision fundamentals (cameras, optics, lighting).
• Experience with AI-based vision, labeling, and model training.
• Based in San Francisco, with office work and some travel.

Responsibilities

• Lab testing and experimentation with cameras, lenses, lighting, and other vision components.
• Vision setup builds for customer applications and internal projects.
• Prepare clear, fast technical reports from application tests.
• Evaluate new components and technologies to improve systems.
• Provide field support for local customers (testing, troubleshooting, deployment).
• Manage AI vision workflow: labeling, training, evaluation.

Skills

Machine vision

Image acquisition

Optics & lenses

AI-based inspection

Troubleshooting

Tools

Cameras

Lenses

Lighting

Industrial automation

Job description

Join a world-class team of engineers, scientists, and builders shipping AI vision systems that catch defects humans can't, deployed in factories across 5 continents.

We're not just another AI startup. We ship real hardware + software that runs 24/7 in demanding factory environments.

Solve Hard Problems

Work on real-time AI inference, edge computing, and multi-camera systems that inspect thousands of parts per minute in noisy, vibrating factory environments.

Global & Remote-Friendly

Our team spans San Francisco, Austin, Mexico City, São Paulo, Zurich, Taipei, Shanghai and more. Work from where you do your best work.

Ship Fast, Ship Often

We move at startup speed with manufacturing rigor. Small teams, big ownership, direct customer impact. You'll see your work in production, not PowerPoints.

Competitive Compensation

Competitive salary, equity, comprehensive health insurance, 401(k), and generous PTO. We invest in our people as much as our technology.

Learning & Growth

Work alongside former Tesla, Apple, and top-tier manufacturing engineers. We sponsor conferences, courses, and certifications.

Real-World Impact

Your code runs on real production lines catching real defects. Reducing waste, improving safety, and helping manufacturers compete globally.

Life at Overview.ai

Open Positions

Find your next role. We're looking for talented people who thrive on hard problems and want their work to matter.

Applications Engineer, San Francisco

Location

Employment Type

Full time

Location Type

Hybrid

Overview US

Applications Engineer
San Francisco, CA · Applications · Full time, in office

Compensation: $80,000 to $110,000 USD base, plus an annual performance bonus of up to 20%.
Travel: Up to 50%, typically lower.

Overview.ai is bringing the cutting edge of AI computer vision to manufacturing, solving inspection problems that were previously not solvable with traditional machine vision. We're a full-stack company: we deploy GPU-powered cameras on production lines, run inference on the edge, and operate a platform that supports large fleets of devices deployed across the world.

We're growing extremely fast. Our customers love the product because it works: high accuracy, fast deployment, and an operator-friendly experience that makes real factory rollouts possible, not just pilots.

THE OPPORTUNITY

This is a hands on machine vision role for someone who wants to get deep, fast. You will split your time between the lab and live customer applications: evaluating a lens, optimizing a camera setup, building a proof of concept, troubleshooting an inspection that has to hold on a production line. The work moves from bench to factory floor in weeks, not quarters, and what you learn in the lab shows up directly in what we deploy.

WHY THIS ROLE IS EXCITING

Become a genuine machine vision expert: optics, lighting, sensors, and AI inspection, on real parts and real lines.

Own the experiment. You decide how to test it, you write the report, the finding changes the deployment.

Sit at the seam of lab research and customer reality, where most vision engineers only ever see one side.

Work directly with the most demanding manufacturers in the world, with Sales, Product, and Engineering a desk away.

WHAT YOU'LL OWN

Lab testing and experimentation: Hands on testing with cameras, lenses, lighting, and other machine vision components.

Vision setup builds: Build and evaluate vision configurations for customer applications and internal projects.

Technical test reports: Run application tests and turn out clear, fast technical reporting others can act on.

Technology evaluation: Assess new components and technologies and call whether they improve our systems.

Customer support in the field: Testing, troubleshooting, deployment, and technical problem solving for local customers.

AI vision workflow: Image collection, labeling, training, and model evaluation on AI based inspection systems.

Team enablement: Build the internal test setups, resources, and documentation the broader Applications team runs on.

Optical and hardware projects: Camera calibration, new optical configurations, and hardware evaluation.

WHO YOU ARE

Required

1 to 3+ years in machine vision, computer vision, applications engineering, robotics, automation, manufacturing, or a related field.

Strong hands on grasp of machine vision fundamentals: cameras, lenses, optics, lighting, and image acquisition.

Familiarity with lens types and when to use them, including telecentric lenses.

Working understanding of AI based vision and how it differs from traditional rules based vision.

Familiarity with image labeling, model training, classification, object detection, and segmentation.

Strong troubleshooting instincts and a logical, experimental approach to technical problems.

Comfortable working hands on with hardware and testing approaches independently.

Able to document and communicate technical findings clearly.

Eager to learn new technologies quickly, including industrial automation and PLCs.

Based in San Francisco, working primarily from our office, with occasional travel to customer sites.

Strong Preferences

Experience with industrial machine vision systems in production.

Experience selecting or evaluating cameras, lenses, lighting, or optical components.

Hands on experience with AI or deep learning inspection systems.

Experience building proof of concept systems or running feasibility studies.

Exposure to PLCs, industrial controls, or manufacturing automation.

Experience working directly with manufacturing customers.

Extreme growth and real-world impact: We're not building demos. We're deploying AI systems on real production lines, at scale.

Talent density: You'll work with world-class engineers and operators across AI, embedded systems, and enterprise deployment.

Front-row seat to the AI manufacturing wave: One of the biggest transformations happening in industry right now.

Ownership: Your work directly changes the trajectory of the company.

Global exposure: You'll work with the most advanced customers and factories in the world.