Senior Robot Perception Engineer - Visual Inspection/MLOps

Brightmachines; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Bright Machines is seeking a Senior Robot Perception Engineer for the Smart Robotics team in San Francisco to productize visual inspection solutions for our AI-enabled automation platform. You will own the end-to-end pipeline from prototype to production, developing computer vision and deep learning models for defect detection and validation at scale.

You will collaborate with Mechanical Engineering and Manufacturing Operations to design robust inspection systems and drive ML techniques across

Qualifications

• MS or PhD in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or 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
• 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

Responsibilities

• 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

Skills

Computer vision

Machine learning

Python

PyTorch

C/C++

GPU deployment

MLOps

Data pipelines

ROS2

Camera systems

Illumination design

Education

MS/PhD in CS/EE or related field

Tools

CUDA

TensorRT

MLflow

Weights & Biases

Kubeflow

GenICam

CoaXPress

GigE Vision

Job description

RETHINK MANUFACTURING

Theonly way toignite changeis to build the best team. At Bright Machines®,we’reinnovators and experts in our craft who have joined together tomanufacturetheAI and data center infrastructureat the edge. We believeunifyingsoftware, intelligent automation, anddataisthe answerto delivering qualityand flexibilityatscale. We deliver products to meet the demands of today whilecontinuously investing in our Bright Factory modelto take advantage of what comes next.

Working with us meansyou’llhave the opportunity to make lasting, impactful changes for our company and our customers. Ifyou’reready to apply your exceptional skills toa brighter way of manufacturing AI infrastructure,we’dlove 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.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• 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

QUALIFICATIONS

• 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
• 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

BE EMPOWERED TO CHANGE AN INDUSTRY

Bright Machines is a next‑generation, AI‑enabled manufacturer focused on data center infrastructure production. Bright Machines uses its proprietary AI‑based robotics and software to assemble AI infrastructure hardware products (i.e., data center servers) for hyperscalers, neoclouds, and leading Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to reduce their time to revenue. With its Bright Factory model, Bright Machines builds higher quality data center infrastructure at scale, addresses increasing market demands for computing power due to the surge of AI, and answers the call to the U.S. national mandate to reshore manufacturing.

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.