Founding Autonomy Engineer for Off-Road Robotics

QAIL AI; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Job summary

QAIL AI in San Francisco is building an autonomous ground vehicle. We are looking for a founding engineer to own the autonomy stack—from sensors to path driving—and to help turn a working prototype into a field-ready system.

You will work with founders, set engineering practices, and guide rapid field testing. The role requires 4+ years in outdoor robotics, strong C++ and Python, ROS 2, and hands-on hardware in edge compute.

Qualifications

• 4+ years building autonomy for real outdoor robots or vehicles.
• Depth in at least two of state estimation, perception and mapping, or planning and control, and working knowledge of the third.
• Off-road know-how: elevation or traversability mapping, negative obstacles, wheel slip, degraded GNSS.
• Strong C++ and Python, ROS 2 and Linux; at home on edge compute such as Jetson and CUDA.
• Hands-on hardware skills: sensors, wiring, power budgets, debugging in the field.

Responsibilities

• Own the autonomy stack end to end: localization, perception, mapping, planning, control, and safety.
• Integrate and evaluate sensors and compute to improve reliability in real-world terrain.
• Develop and enforce engineering practices, code reviews, and testing regimes.
• Lead field tests and iterate quickly to ship a safe prototype.

Skills

C++

Python

ROS 2

Linux

Jetson

CUDA

Tools

ROS 2

Linux

Job description

QAIL AI in San Francisco is building an autonomous ground vehicle. We are looking for a founding engineer to own the autonomy stack—from sensors to path driving—and to help turn a working prototype into a field-ready system.

You will work with founders, set engineering practices, and guide rapid field testing. The role requires 4+ years in outdoor robotics, strong C++ and Python, ROS 2, and hands-on hardware in edge compute.