Senior EO/IR Image Processing Engineer

Rocketlab; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 259,000 - 370,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee stock purchase program

Equity compensation

Health insurance (medical, dental, and

401(k) with company match

Paid time off

Job summary

Rocket Lab Optical Systems seeks a Principal Algorithm Engineer (EO/IR) in Long Beach to develop, validate, and deploy advanced image-processing algorithms for space payloads. You will leverage Python/C++ and ML techniques, pushing real-time performance and robust imaging insights.

Join a world-class team delivering high-impact space missions with competitive equity, comprehensive benefits, and opportunities for growth within a fast-growing company.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with 12+ years of experience, master's with 8+ years, or Ph.D. with 5+ years in a technical discipline with image processing/EO/IR experience.
• Strong experience designing and optimizing image processing and computer vision algorithms for EO/IR sensors.
• Broad computer vision knowledge: object detection, tracking, 3-D modeling, pose reconstruction, background suppression.

Responsibilities

• Develop, optimize, and validate EO/IR image-processing chains for real-time deployment on space payloads.
• Model and simulate mission imagery to support ML training and algorithm validation.
• Lead and collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to deliver high-performance processing solutions.

Skills

EO/IR image processing

Image detection and tracking

Python programming

Machine learning

Image-system modeling

Real-time processing

Communication skills

Leadership

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree + 12+ years

Master's degree + 8+ years

PhD + 5+ years

Tools

C/C++

Python

Modeling & simulation tools

Job description

Rocket Lab Optical Systems seeks a Principal Algorithm Engineer (EO/IR) in Long Beach to develop, validate, and deploy advanced image-processing algorithms for space payloads. You will leverage Python/C++ and ML techniques, pushing real-time performance and robust imaging insights.

Join a world-class team delivering high-impact space missions with competitive equity, comprehensive benefits, and opportunities for growth within a fast-growing company.