Principal ML Engineer — Space Optics & Vision Systems

Rocket Lab Corporation; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 199,000 - 318,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company stock

Employee Stock Purchase Program

Comprehensive health plans

Paid time off

401(k) with match

Job summary

Rocket Lab Corporation in Long Beach, CA is seeking a Principal Machine Learning Engineer to lead ML initiatives for space systems. You will design, train, and deploy deep learning models for EO/IR image processing, build end-to-end ML pipelines, and collaborate with researchers and engineers across AI, computer vision, and space-domain applications.

The role requires 12+ years in machine learning with a strong background in vision tasks; citizenship and ability to obtain US security clearance;

Qualifications

• Strong background in machine learning model selection and deployment.
• Experience building deep learning models for computer vision and image analysis.
• Proficiency in Python and ML libraries.
• Familiarity with software engineering fundamentals and CI/CD.
• U.S. citizenship and ability to obtain security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Design, train, and deploy ML models for optical systems.
• Build ML pipelines for data ingestion, training, and inference.
• Collaborate with researchers and engineers in AI and computer vision.
• Prototype rapidly for integration into operational systems.
• Troubleshoot and maintain systems; stay current with ML advances.

Skills

Machine learning

Deep learning

Computer vision

Python

ML deployment

Data pipelines

Education

Bachelor's degree + 12+ years in CS/EE/related field

Master’s or PhD preferred

Tools

Python

Keras/TensorFlow/PyTorch

Version control

CI/CD

Containerization

Job description

Rocket Lab Corporation in Long Beach, CA is seeking a Principal Machine Learning Engineer to lead ML initiatives for space systems. You will design, train, and deploy deep learning models for EO/IR image processing, build end-to-end ML pipelines, and collaborate with researchers and engineers across AI, computer vision, and space-domain applications.

The role requires 12+ years in machine learning with a strong background in vision tasks; citizenship and ability to obtain US security clearance;