Senior Perception Engineer

MaC VC; Golden (CO); On-site; USD 145,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, vision, and dental coverage

Disability and life insurance

Paid parental leave

3 weeks vacation + 10+ holidays

Job summary

Rendezvous Robotics is seeking a Senior Perception Engineer in Golden, CO to lead the tile's relative navigation stack, from perception and sensor fusion to onboard flight software. You will define sensor interfaces, build calibration, simulation, and test infrastructure, and verify algorithms on ground and in orbit.

You will work with a small team of GNC, flight software, and avionics engineers to ensure robust docking and autonomous operation of self-assembling satellites.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in aerospace/electrical engineering, physics, mathematics, computer science, or other relevant engineering discipline.
• Software development experience in C++ and Python.
• Hands-on experience delivering camera-based pose estimation or multi-sensor fusion on a real robotic or space system.

Responsibilities

• Own relative navigation for proximity operations and docking end to end: perception, sensor fusion, and the estimator that feeds the control loop
• Take the tile vision system to flight: detection, calibration, pose estimation, outlier rejection, and robust performance across range, environment, and relative motion
• Design, implement, tune, and verify the relative-state estimator (EKF, MEKF, UKF, etc) that fuses vision with the other relative sensors, including the handoff between sensors as range closes
• Derive measurement models from first principles for each sensor in the relative-navigation suite
• Define and own the navigation accuracy budget as a function of range and the sensor-suite and interface requirements (rate, latency, covariance, dropout) that meet it
• Build the calibration and ground-truth infrastructure that lets perception performance be measured on the bench and carried into simulation
• Verify performance and robustness with hardware-in-the-loop experiments, using statistical consistency tests
• Implement perception and navigation algorithms in onboard flight software in C++ and develop the supporting simulations, tools, and dashboards in Python
• Support flight operations, monitor on-orbit navigation health, and lead on-orbit anomaly investigations

Skills

C++

Python

Vision-based pose estimation

Sensor fusion

Flight software

GNC

Ground testing

Education

Bachelor's degree in aerospace/electrical engineering, physics, mathematics, computer science, or other relevant engineering discipline

Tools

Camera calibration

Kalman filtering

Embedded compute

Git

Job description

Today, everything we send to space is constrained by what fits inside a rocket fairing. That's a fundamental bottleneck to building more capable spacecraft. Rendezvous Robotics is solving this problem with electromagnetic self-assembling tiles: modular spacecraft components that rendezvous, dock, and latch to assemble bigger and more powerful spacecraft than anything that can be folded to fit into a rocket. We're a small team based in Golden, Colorado, executing on a clear path from flight demonstration to our first operational systems. Our work spans hardware, software, and systems engineering. We are looking for the best people in the world who want to build the next generation of advanced spacecraft.

Senior Perception Engineer

Successful electromagnetic docking requires complete autonomy due to fast and unstable electromagnetic dynamics; the timescales are far beyond the bandwidth of a human operator. As a Senior Perception Engineer, you will lead the design and development of the tile’s relative navigation stack: a set of algorithms and sensors that allow tiles to determine their pose and position within the swarm to a very high degree of accuracy. This is a critical capability that enables autonomous electromagnetic docking.

You will own the vision system that detects and tracks neighboring tiles. You will develop sensor fusion solutions that allow the docking controller to remain robust through the capture envelope, from first acquisition to contact. You will carry the development from prototypes to flight: define the sensor-suite and interface requirements, build calibration, simulation, and test infrastructure, implement and verify algorithms on the ground and in orbit, define metrics and dashboards to track system performance, and resolve on-orbit anomalies. You will work alongside a small team of GNC, flight software, and avionics engineers to build capabilities for next-generation self-assembling satellites. If you are energized by solving hard problems, then this role is for you.

Responsibilities

• Own relative navigation for proximity operations and docking end to end: perception, sensor fusion, and the estimator that feeds the control loop
• Take the tile vision system to flight: detection, calibration, pose estimation, outlier rejection, and robust performance across range, environment, and relative motion
• Design, implement, tune, and verify the relative-state estimator (EKF, MEKF, UKF, etc) that fuses vision with the other relative sensors, including the handoff between sensors as range closes
• Derive measurement models from first principles for each sensor in the relative-navigation suite
• Define and own the navigation accuracy budget as a function of range and the sensor-suite and interface requirements (rate, latency, covariance, dropout) that meet it
• Build the calibration and ground-truth infrastructure that lets perception performance be measured on the bench and carried into simulation
• Verify performance and robustness with hardware-in-the-loop experiments, using statistical consistency tests
• Implement perception and navigation algorithms in onboard flight software in C++ and develop the supporting simulations, tools, and dashboards in Python
• Support flight operations, monitor on-orbit navigation health, and lead on-orbit anomaly investigations

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in aerospace/electrical engineering, physics, mathematics, computer science, or other relevant engineering discipline
• Software development experience in C++ and Python
• Hands-on experience delivering camera-based pose estimation or multi-sensor fusion on a real robotic or space system

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's or PhD in robotics, computer vision, or an engineering discipline, or 5+ years of professional perception, state-estimation, or GNC experience
• Expertise in computer vision for metric pose: camera models and calibration, fiducial or feature-based pose estimation, multi-view geometry, and image processing on embedded compute
• Expertise in sequential estimation: Kalman filtering, residual editing, filter tuning, covariance analysis and realism, consider parameters, and consistency testing (NIS/NEES, chi-squared)
• Experience fusing asynchronous, latent, dropout-prone measurements from heterogeneous sensors, including time synchronization and attitude representation on SO(3)
• Proficiency in sensor handling: measurement modeling, debiasing, calibration, and characterization on the bench
• Familiarity with embedded software development and real-time constraints
• Understanding of electromagnetic systems, orbital mechanics, and proximity-operations dynamics is a plus
• Proven ability to develop, test, and deploy algorithms for real-world space or robotic applications, with proficiency in Git
• Capable of identifying and solving complex problems with little to no supervision in a fast-paced start-up environment
• Passionate about solving hard problems, building things, and advancing the space industry
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Compensation and Benefits

Base salary range: $145,000.00 - $190,000.00

• Access to comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage, short- and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, and paid parental leave.
• May also accrue 3 weeks of paid vacation and will be eligible for 10 or more paid holidays per year.

ITAR Requirements

To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.

Equal Opportunity

Rendezvous Robotics is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Rendezvous Robotics is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.