Principal Perception Engineer — Autonomy Systems

Saildrone; Alameda (CA); On-site; USD 300,000 - 380,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous Time Off

Comprehensive Health Coverage

Shared Ownership in the Mission

Retirement Savings

Investment in Your Growth

Relocation Support

Job summary

Saildrone is seeking a Principal Engineer, Perception to define the technical direction and architecture of perception systems for autonomous maritime vehicles. You will own the hardest perception problems, and align sensing, estimation, ML, and production software in real vehicles.

The role is hands-on and leadership-focused, requiring deep expertise in sensor fusion, state estimation, and uncertainty modeling.

Qualifications

• Exceptional depth in perception and robotics, with a track record of deploying perception systems on autonomous vehicles, robots, aerospace, defense, or similarly complex physical systems.
• Deep expertise in sensor fusion, probabilistic estimation, and uncertainty modeling.
• Strong mathematical and algorithmic foundations, with depth in multiple areas such as computer vision, localization, state estimation, tracking, mapping, or machine learning.
• A track record of taking sophisticated algorithms or research from experimentation into reliable production systems.
• Experience setting technical direction and architecture for complex autonomous systems.
• Exceptional technical judgment demonstrated through consequential technical decisions and problem solving.

Responsibilities

• Define the architecture and technical direction for Saildrone's perception systems.
• Lead the hardest problems in sensor fusion, probabilistic estimation, localization, tracking, mapping, and uncertainty estimation.
• Determine how heterogeneous sensors and perception algorithms combine to produce reliable information for downstream autonomy.
• Translate research and algorithms into robust production capabilities within real-world constraints on sensors, compute, latency, and environmental conditions.
• Provide technical direction to senior and staff engineers through architecture, technical review, and problem solving.

Skills

Perception systems

Sensor fusion

Probabilistic estimation

Uncertainty modeling

Computer vision

Localization

State estimation

Tracking

Mapping

Machine learning

System architecture

Technical judgment

Job description

Saildrone is seeking a Principal Engineer, Perception to define the technical direction and architecture of perception systems for autonomous maritime vehicles. You will own the hardest perception problems, and align sensing, estimation, ML, and production software in real vehicles.

The role is hands-on and leadership-focused, requiring deep expertise in sensor fusion, state estimation, and uncertainty modeling.