Senior Robot Localization and Mapping Engineer

Intuitive Autonomy; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Intuitive Autonomy in San Jose is hiring a Senior Localization and Mapping Engineer to advance SLAM, state estimation, and mapping for autonomous robots. You’ll work with perception, navigation, planning, control, and systems teams to deliver accurate, real-time localization in challenging environments.

You will deploy, optimize, and test algorithms on embedded platforms like NVIDIA Jetson, and contribute to simulation and real‑robot test loops.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in a related field and industry experience.
• Strong C++ and Python with solid engineering practices.
• Foundation in probabilistic robotics, state estimation, and optimization.
• Familiarity with SLAM frameworks and ROS 2, Linux, and common libraries.

Responsibilities

• Develop and productize LiDAR and visual-inertial SLAM, global localization, relocalization, loop closure, and pose graph optimization.
• Fuse LiDAR, camera, IMU, wheel odometry, GNSS, and UWB data for robust localization.
• Build map compression, version management, cloud delivery, and multi-robot map sharing and update capabilities.
• Develop sensor calibration and time synchronization, including camera–IMU and LiDAR–IMU calibrations.
• Deploy, accelerate, and stabilize algorithms on NVIDIA Jetson platforms.
• Create simulation and real robot test loops for challenging environments.
• Integrate localization outputs with perception, navigation, planning, control, and systems teams.
• Evaluate semantic SLAM advances and 3D mapping techniques such as 3DGS.
• Mentor junior engineers and contribute to technical reviews.

Skills

C++

Python

Probabilistic robotics

State estimation

SLAM

Education

Bachelor’s degree or higher

Tools

ROS 2

Linux

CMake

Git

PCL

OpenCV

eigen

Ceres

GTSAM

g2o

Job description

Job Title:

Senior Robot Localization and Mapping Engineer

Location:

San Jose, CA

About Us

Intuitive Autonomy is building autonomous caregiving robots to empower safe and independent living for the large aging population. Our team includes experts in robotics, autonomous driving, and large-scale physical AI models, and we collaborate closely with world-leading researchers at Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute. Join us as we push the boundaries of AI and robotics to transform the hundred-billion-dollar eldercare industry.

Role Overview

We’re seeking a senior localization and mapping engineer to develop reliable SLAM, state estimation, and mapping capabilities for autonomous robots. You’ll work with perception, navigation, planning, control, and systems teams to deliver accurate, real-time localization in challenging environments.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and productize LiDAR and visual-inertial SLAM, global localization, relocalization, loop closure detection, and pose graph optimization
• Fuse LiDAR, camera, IMU, wheel odometry, GNSS, and UWB data for robust localization
• Build map compression, version management, cloud delivery, and multi-robot map sharing and update capabilities
• Develop sensor calibration and time synchronization, including camera–IMU, LiDAR–IMU, multi-camera, and wheel odometry extrinsic calibration
• Deploy, accelerate, and stabilize algorithms on NVIDIA platforms such as Jetson Orin
• Build simulation and real‑robot test loops for dynamic environments, low‑texture scenes, long corridors, and glass walls
• Integrate localization and mapping outputs with perception, navigation, planning, control, and systems teams to meet latency, accuracy, and robustness requirements
• Evaluate advances in semantic SLAM, collaborative SLAM, learning‑based localization, and NeRF / 3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS) mapping
• Mentor junior engineers, participate in technical reviews, and share knowledge across the team

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in a related field and at least 3 years of industry experience
• Strong C++ and Python skills, with solid engineering practices and coding standards
• Solid foundation in probabilistic robotics, state estimation, and optimization, including EKF variants, particle filters, and factor graphs
• Familiarity with at least one SLAM framework, such as Cartographer, LIO-SAM, FAST‑LIO, LOAM, ORB‑SLAM, VINS, OpenVINS, or RTAB‑Map
• Familiarity with ROS 2, Linux, CMake, Git, and libraries such as PCL, OpenCV, eigen, Ceres, GTSAM, and g2o
• Experience in point cloud processing, visual or multi‑view geometry, or sensor calibration
• Experience with dynamic environments, semantic SLAM, or 3DGS mapping
• Experience with delivering and optimizing algorithms on embedded platforms

Bonus Points

• Experience bringing robots to scaled production and real‑world deployments
• Experience with multi‑robot collaborative mapping or long‑term map maintenance
• Publications at ICRA, IROS, RSS, CVPR, T-RO, or related venues

What We Offer

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