Robotics Software Engineer, Multimodal Inspection

FieldAI; Irvine (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

FieldAI in Irvine, California invites engineers to advance multimodal sensing for real robots, combining camera, thermal, and other modalities into robust perception pipelines. You will optimize real-time performance and deploy on hardware in real deployments around the world.

We seek hands-on developers with ROS 2 experience and a strong background in sensor integration, calibration, and field-tested engineering. Join a team shipping reliable autonomy solutions from Southern California.

Qualifications

• MS in robotics, electrical, mechanical, aerospace, computer science, or related field with 3+ years building sensing software for real robots.
• Strong C++ and Python, and ROS 2 experience integrating sensor drivers and real-time pipelines.
• Hands-on camera and thermal calibration, cross-modal registration, and geometric sensor fusion.
• Experience with latency budgets, dropout handling, and data persistence through network outages.
• Field mindset: debugging sensors on robots in non-desk environments.

Responsibilities

• Develop inspection modalities beyond RGB, from sensing to insight, such as radiometric thermal, gas detection, and acoustic signatures.
• Fuse these modalities into the perception and mission pipeline.
• Implement sensing-based behavior activation.
• Deliver per-asset evidence and alerts into the data platform and on-prem flows.
• Analyze multimodal inspection performance across real-world deployments.

Skills

C++

Python

ROS 2

Sensor data integration

Real-time pipelines

Education

MS in robotics or related field

Tools

ROS 2

Sensor drivers

Job description

FieldAI's Irvine team is where embodied AI meets real robots, real sensors, and real field deployments. Based in the heart of Southern California's robotics ecosystem, we build risk-aware, reliable, field-ready AI systems that solve the hardest problems in robotics and unlock the full potential of embodied intelligence. If you want your work to ship, get tested on hardware, and improve through real deployments, Irvine is the place. We go beyond typical data-driven approaches or pure transformer-only architectures, combining rigorous engineering with learning systems proven in globally deployed solutions that deliver results today and get better every time our robots run in the field.

What You Will Get To Do

• Develop inspection modalities beyond RGB, from sensing to insight, such as radiometric thermal, gas detection, and acoustic signatures.

• Fuse these modalities into the perception and mission pipeline.

• Implement sensing-based behavior activation.

• Deliver per-asset evidence and alerts into the data platform and on-prem flows.

• Analyze multimodal inspection performance across real-world deployments.

What You Have

• MS in robotics, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, computer science, or a related field, with 3+ years building sensing software for real robots.

• Strong C++ and Python, and ROS 2 experience integrating sensor drivers and real-time pipelines.

• Hands-on camera and thermal calibration, cross-modal registration, and the geometry to project detections between sensors and 3D.

• Experience with real-time constraints: latency budgets, dropout handling, and persisting data through network outages.

• A field mindset: you have debugged a sensor on a robot in a place with no desk.

What Will Set You Apart

• Optical gas imaging, multi-gas sensing, or radiometric thermal analysis.

• Acoustic anomaly detection for rotating machinery.

• Predictive maintenance integrations (CMMS, SCADA) or functional safety experience.

• Applying foundation models to thermal or non-RGB imagery.

Our salary range is generous and we consider each individual's background and experience when determining final compensation. Base pay may vary based on role scope, job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and the Irvine, California market.

Why Join FieldAI in Irvine?

In Irvine, you will work where the robots are. Our local team builds and tests systems on real hardware with real sensors, then ships them to operate in unstructured, previously unknown environments around the world. We are solving one of robotics' hardest challenges: reliable deployment outside the lab. Our Field Foundational Models raise the bar for perception, planning, localization, and manipulation, with an emphasis on explainability and safety for real-world use.

You will collaborate with a world-class team that thrives on creativity, resilience, and bold thinking. We bring deep experience from organizations such as DeepMind, NASA JPL, Boston Dynamics, NVIDIA, Amazon, Tesla Autopilot, Cruise, Zoox, Toyota Research Institute, and SpaceX, along with a track record of field deployments and strong performance in DARPA challenge segments.

Be Part of the Next Robotics Revolution

We are looking for builders who want their work to leave the whiteboard and show up on robots. If you enjoy tackling tough, uncharted questions and working across disciplines, you will find your people here. Our teams span AI, software, robotics engineering, product, field deployment, and technical communication, all focused on shipping systems that perform in the real world.

Our headquarters is in Irvine, and we partner closely with teams there as well as colleagues across the US and around the world. Join us in Southern California and help define what dependable, field-ready autonomy looks like.

We value diverse perspectives and are committed to fostering an inclusive workplace. We evaluate candidates and employees based on merit, qualifications, and performance, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, national origin, ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, or any other legally protected status.