Principal ML Engineer, Space Optical Systems (Equity)

Rocket Lab Corporation; Chantilly (VA); On-site; USD 153,000 - 318,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee Stock Purchase Program

Comprehensive benefits package

Stock-based compensation

Job summary

Rocket Lab, a leading space company, seeks a Principal Machine Learning Engineer in Chantilly, VA to develop deep learning models for EO/IR image processing and contribute to SDA PWSA programs. You will design and deploy ML systems, build scalable pipelines, and collaborate across AI/ML groups.

The role requires a strong ML background, Python proficiency, and the ability to obtain US government clearance. It offers competitive base pay, equity, and a comprehensive benefits package.

Qualifications

• Must have 12+ years of experience in CS/EE or related field.
• Experience building deep learning models for computer vision, image processing, or video analysis.
• Proficiency in Python.
• Experience with deep learning libraries (Keras, TensorFlow, PyTorch, etc).
• Software engineering fundamentals: version control, testing, CI/CD, containerization.
• U.S. citizenship and ability to obtain security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Design, train, and deploy ML models for Optical Systems applications.
• Build and maintain ML pipelines for data ingestion, feature engineering, training, and inference.
• Collaborate with researchers/engineers on AI, ML, and computer vision.
• Perform rapid prototyping and integration into operational systems.
• Stay current with ML research and evaluate new tools, frameworks, and techniques.

Skills

ML experience

Python

DL frameworks

Software engineering

Security clearance

Government clearance

Education

Bachelor's + 12+ years or higher degree

Tools

Keras

TensorFlow

PyTorch

Job description

Rocket Lab, a leading space company, seeks a Principal Machine Learning Engineer in Chantilly, VA to develop deep learning models for EO/IR image processing and contribute to SDA PWSA programs. You will design and deploy ML systems, build scalable pipelines, and collaborate across AI/ML groups.

The role requires a strong ML background, Python proficiency, and the ability to obtain US government clearance. It offers competitive base pay, equity, and a comprehensive benefits package.