Senior Software Engineer, Localization (Calibration)

AeroVect; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

AeroVect is building autonomous ground handling systems and seeks a Senior Software Engineer for the Localization team. You will own calibration end-to-end, improve reliability across LiDAR, IMU, GNSS, cameras and radar, and design an online validation system for live missions at major airports.

You will also contribute to localization, mapping, and sensor integration efforts, developing tooling for health logging, diagnostics, and post-mission analysis while collaborating with Perception,

Qualifications

• 5+ years in robotics or autonomous vehicles with hands-on sensor calibration/localization/state estimation.
• Strong multi-sensor calibration knowledge across LiDARs, IMUs, GNSS, and cameras.
• Experience with non-linear optimization (Ceres, GTSAM) or filtering (EKF/UKF).
• Proficiency in C++17+ and Linux/ROS/ROS2.
• Understanding how calibration quality affects localization and perception.

Responsibilities

• Own the calibration stack end-to-end with repeatable, traceable results.
• Design and build online calibration validation monitoring for cross-sensor consistency.
• Contribute to localization and mapping pipeline, sensor integration, regression testing.
• Develop tooling for calibration health logging, diagnostics, and post-mission analysis.
• Deploy and iterate using data from real autonomous operations at airports.

Skills

Sensor calibration

Localization

State estimation

C++17+

Linux

ROS/ROS2

Education

BS/MS in CS/Robotics/EE/Eng

Tools

Ceres

GTSAM

Kalibr

LIO-SAM

OpenCV

Job description

Who We Are

AeroVect is transforming ground handling with autonomy, redefining how airlines and ground service providers around the globe run day-to-day operations. We are a Series A company backed by top-tier venture capital investors in aviation and autonomous driving. Our customers include some of the world’s largest airlines and ground handling providers. For more information, visit www.aerovect.com. We are looking for a Senior Software Engineer to join the Localization team and take ownership of our calibration systems — from robustifying and stabilizing the existing offline calibration stack, through adapting it for new sensors and environments, to building online calibration validation for continuous autonomous operations at major airports. Beyond calibration, you will contribute to the broader localization, mapping, and sensor integration efforts as the team scales. You will work under the supervision of a Staff Localization Engineer and collaborate closely with the Perception, Planning, and Infrastructure teams.

You Will

• Own the calibration stack end-to-end — improve reliability of existing offline calibrations, close coverage gaps across the sensor suite (LiDAR, IMU, GNSS, cameras, radar), and ensure every calibration is repeatable, traceable, and has clear pass/fail criteria
• Design and build an online calibration validation system that monitors cross-sensor consistency during live missions, detects drift, and integrates with the vehicle's safety architecture
• Contribute to the localization and mapping pipeline — sensor integration, performance tuning, regression testing, and deployment to new operating environments
• Develop tooling for calibration health logging, diagnostics, and post-mission analysis
• Deploy, test, and iterate using data from real autonomous operations at active airports

You Have

• 5+ years of experience in robotics or autonomous vehicles with hands-on work in sensor calibration, localization, or state estimation
• Strong practical knowledge of multi-sensor calibration - intrinsic, extrinsic, and temporal - across LiDARs, IMUs, GNSS, and cameras
• Proven experience with non-linear optimization frameworks (Ceres, GTSAM, g2o) or filtering approaches (EKF, UKF)
• Strong C++ skills (C++17+) and working experience with Linux and ROS/ROS2
• Understanding of how calibration quality propagates through localization and perception
• BS or MS in Computer Science, Robotics,Electrical/Mechanical Engineering, or related field

We Prefer

• MS or PhD with a focus on calibration, localization, or state estimation
• Experience building online/runtime calibration monitoring for deployed autonomous systems
• Experience with factor graphs, graph-based SLAM, or open-source tools like Kalibr, LIO-SAM, GLIM, Ceres, GTSAM
• Track record of deploying calibration or localization systems on real hardware in production environments
• Experience defining safety-relevant thresholds and working with safety monitoring architectures
• Familiarity with OpenCV,