Senior Robot Perception Engineer - Visual Inspection/MLOps

Bright Machines; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 235,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading AI-enabled manufacturer in San Francisco is seeking a Senior Robot Perception Engineer to innovate visual inspection solutions for automation. This role demands expertise in computer vision and deep learning, focusing on developing algorithms and optimizing models for production. The ideal candidate will have at least 5 years of experience and strong programming skills in Python, with a compensation range between $180,000 and $235,000. Join a team committed to transforming manufacturing with cutting-edge technology.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of relevant experience in computer vision and/or machine learning.
• Strong programming skills in Python.
• Experience with image acquisition and camera systems.

Responsibilities

• Develop and optimize visual inspection algorithms.
• Collaborate with Mechanical engineers on illumination setups.
• Harden inspection solutions for production reliability.

Skills

Computer vision

Deep learning

Python

Machine learning optimization

Education

MS or PhD in Computer Science or related field

Tools

PyTorch

CUDA

TensorRT

Job description

Overview

RETHINK MANUFACTURING The only way to ignite change is to build the best team. At Bright Machines®, we’re innovators and experts in our craft who have joined together to create a new category of manufacturing that will help transform the industry. We believe software and data are the answer, thoughtfully applied to solve our customers’ unique challenges. Through intelligent automation, we give factories newfound flexibility, scalability, and resilience. We deliver products to meet the demands of today while building a platform to take advantage of what comes next. Working with us means you’ll have the opportunity to make lasting, impactful changes for our company and our customers. If you’re ready to apply your exceptional skills to create the factory of the future, we’d love to speak with you.

About The Role As a senior Robot Perception Engineer on the Smart Robotics team at Bright Machines, you will be a hands-on senior contributor responsible for productizing visual inspection solutions for our automation platform. You will own the full pipeline—from algorithm development to production deployment—turning prototype inspection capabilities into reliable, high-throughput features that operate at scale across our automation lines. In this role, you will develop and optimize computer vision and deep learning models for defect detection, classification, and visual validation. You will collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including Mechanical Engineering and Manufacturing Operations, to design end-to-end inspection solutions that deliver consistent, accurate results under real-world factory conditions. Additionally, you will have the opportunity to shape the inspection product roadmap and drive the adoption of cutting-edge machine learning techniques in an industrial setting.

What You Will Be Doing

• Develop and optimize visual inspection algorithms for defect detection, anomaly detection, classification, and quality validation using deep learning
• Optimize model inference for GPU deployment, leveraging CUDA, TensorRT, and related acceleration frameworks
• Collaborate with Mechanical engineers to design illumination setups that maximize inspection accuracy and robustness
• Build and maintain data pipelines for model training, evaluation, and continuous improvement
• Partner with platform team to establish MLOps practices for model versioning, experiment tracking, automated retraining, and production model monitoring
• Harden inspection solutions for production reliability, including monitoring, alerting, and graceful degradation
• Work with service engineering and field teams to deploy inspection solutions and support customer rollouts
• Define metrics and benchmarks to measure inspection accuracy, throughput, and reliability

What You Will Bring

• MS or PhD in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field, or the equivalent in experience with evidence of exceptional ability.
• 5+ years of relevant experience in computer vision and/or machine learning
• Strong programming skills in Python
• Deep experience with PyTorch for model development and training
• Experience optimizing ML models for GPU inference in production environments
• Track record of shipping ML/CV models from prototype to production
• Experience with image acquisition, camera systems, and sensor integration

Nice to Have

• Knowledge of lighting and optics for machine vision (diffuse/directional illumination, lens and filters)
• Experience with industrial camera systems and standards (GigE Vision, GenICam, CoaXPress)
• C/C++ experience for performance-critical components
• Experience with MLOps tooling (MLflow, Weights & Biases, Kubeflow, or similar)
• Experience with data annotation, labeling workflows, and active learning strategies
• Experience with ROS2
• Understanding of manufacturing processes and quality control methodologies
• Publications or patents in computer vision, deep learning, or related fields

Compensation $180,000 - $235,000 a year

Be Empowered To Change An Industry Bright Machines is a next-generation, AI-enabled manufacturer focused on data center infrastructure assembly operations. Bright Machines uses its proprietary AI-based robotics and software to assemble AI infrastructure hardware products (i.e., data center servers) for hyperscalers and leading Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). With its new AI factory, Bright Machines addresses increasing market demands for computing power due to the surge of AI and the U.S. national mandate to reshore manufacturing by building data center infrastructure at scale with higher quality and shorter time-to-market.

Bright Machines is headquartered in San Francisco, California, with an integration center in Guadalajara, Mexico. The company has been recognized as one of Forbes’ AI 50, awarded “Best AI-based Solution for Manufacturing” by AI Breakthrough, named a “Technology Pioneer” by the World Economic Forum, and highlighted by several other leading technology and innovation organizations.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.