Sr. Perception & Sensors Engineer, Robotics Hardware

FieldAI; Irvine (CA); On-site; USD 70,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

Field AI in Irvine, California, seeks a Sensor Systems Engineer to design, integrate, calibrate, and validate the sensing systems powering autonomous robotics across harsh field environments.

You will collaborate closely with autonomy, compute, electrical, and mechanical teams, working with LiDAR, depth cameras, IMUs, GPS, and more to ensure accurate, time-synchronized data and robust field readiness.

Qualifications

• B.S., M.S. or Ph.D. in Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Engineering Physics, Physics, or related field.
• Hands-on sensors experience with LiDAR, depth cameras, IMUs, GPS.
• Cross-functional collaboration across electrical, mechanical, and software teams.
• Strong foundation in optics, signal processing, and EM wave propagation.
• Hands-on testing, calibration, and debugging with oscilloscope, logs, vibration/thermal setups.

Responsibilities

• Sensor Architecture: define sensing requirements and select sensors such as LiDARs, depth cameras, GPS, IMUs, ToF.
• Systems Integration: integrate sensors with electrical, mechanical, and software systems.
• Spatial Performance: meet sampling, range, resolution, and transform accuracy.
• Temporal Performance: implement synchronization and latency minimization.
• Performance Characterization: test sensor performance under real-world conditions.
• Calibration: intrinsic and extrinsic calibrations and calibration rigs.
• Documentation: create timing diagrams, sensor maps, and configuration files.
• Production & Servicing: QA checks and manufacturing support.
• Monitor: protocols for health and data quality in field deployments.

Skills

Hands-on sensors

Systems thinking

Sensor physics

Lab skills

ROS/ROS2

Timing protocols

Calibration

Simulation

Communication protocols

Sensor architectures

Education

B.S., M.S. or Ph.D. in Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Engineering Physics, Physics, or related field

Tools

ROS/ROS2 tooling

Coordinate transforms (TF)

Gazebo

Isaac Sim

RViz

GMSL

CAN

I2C

PTP/NTP

Sensor drivers

Job description

Field AI is transforming how robots interact with the real world. We are building risk-aware, reliable, and field-ready AI systems that address the most complex challenges in robotics, unlocking the full potential of embodied intelligence. We go beyond typical data-driven approaches or pure transformer-based architectures, and are charting a new course, with already-globally-deployed solutions delivering real-world results and rapidly improving models through real-field applications.

Hardware Team

The Hardware Team at Field AI develops perception and compute payloads that power autonomous robotics systems in complex real-world environments. Our work spans the full hardware stack designing and integrating sensing systems (LiDAR, camera, TOF, IMU, GPS), embedded compute (CPUs, GPUs, microcontrollers, ROS, sensor drivers), electrical systems (power distribution, communication), and mechanical components (structures, thermal regulation, ingress protection). The team focuses on both development (research, design, prototyping, testing) and operations (production, testing, QA, debugging). We’re a small, fast-moving team, and we care deeply about improving: 1) core capabilities, 2) system reliability, 3) system scalability. As a growing team we are also building operational systems and procedures from the ground up.

Sensor Systems Role

As a Sensor Systems Engineer on the Hardware Team, you will contribute to the design, integration, calibration, and validation of the sensing systems that underpin our autonomy stack. You will work with a diverse array of sensors—LiDARs, depth cameras, IMUs, GPS, and more—ensuring each one delivers accurate, time-synchronized, and spatially consistent data in a range of environments and operating conditions. You will collaborate closely with the autonomy, compute, electrical, and mechanical teams to build tightly integrated solutions ready for deployment in challenging field environments. Additionally, while your focus will be on sensors you will likely contribute across all hardware domains.

What You Will Get To Do

1. Sensor System Design

• Sensor Architecture: Work across hardware and software teams to define sensing requirements. Identity, test, and select sensors such as LiDARs, depth cameras, GPS, IMUs, ToF, and other devices.
• Systems Integration: Integrate sensors with electrical (USB, Ethernet, I2C, CAN, GMSL), mechanical (mounts, jigs, isolation), and software (configurations, drivers, ROS nodes) systems. Ensuring power, thermal, and protocol compatibility.
• Spatial Performance: Architect system to meet spatial sampling performance requirements including spatial coverage, range, resolution, and transform accuracy.
• Temporal Performance: Implement and validate synchronization strategies, triggering schemes, timestamp encoding, and end-to-end latency minimization.

2. Sensor System Implementation

• Performance Characterization: Evaluate sensor performance (spatial resolution, temporal drift, EMI noise, sync errors etc.). Test under real-world environmental conditions (vibration, lighting, moisture, temperature).
• Calibration: Design and execute both intrinsic and extrinsic calibrations. Build alignment rigs and calibration boards as needed.
• Optimization: Tune sensor configurations (exposure, gain, filtering, frame rate, etc.) and processing pipeline (filtering etc.) for optimal performance
• Documentation: Create timing diagrams, sensor maps, coordinate transforms, and maintain all configuration files, launch scripts, driver references, and firmware states.

3. Sensor System Production & Servicing

• Build: Work with vendors to procure sensors. Develop QA checks for incoming units. Support payload integration and manufacturing at scale.
• Debug: Conduct root cause analysis of sensor systems including issues across hardware and software boundaries.
• Monitor: Develop protocols for monitoring the sensing system health, data quality, and calibration status during field deployments.

What You Have

• Education: B.S., M.S. or Ph.D. in Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Engineering Physics, Physics, or a related field.
• Experience Level: We are recruiting across a wide range of experience levels from entry level engineers to senior and staff engineers.
• Hands-On Sensors Experience: Hands-on work with perception sensors such as LiDAR, depth cameras, IMUs, GPS.
• Systems Thinking: Cross-functional collaboration experience across electrical, mechanical, and software teams.
• Sensor Physics: Strong foundation in optics, signal processing, and electromagnetic wave propagation.
• Lab Skills: Hands-on testing, calibration, and debugging skills (oscilloscopes, logs, vibration/thermal setups)
• Communication Protocols: Experience with protocols such as USB, Ethernet, GMSL, CAN, I2C, and CSI.
• Computer & Software: Experience working with ROS/ROS2, sensor drivers, coordinate transforms (TF), and timing protocols (PTP, NTP, etc.).
• Timing & Triggers: Experience with timestamping, synchronization, triggering, and latency constraints.
• Calibration & Characterization: Experience designing and executing intrinsic, extrinsic, and temporal calibrations, along with sensor characterization under real-world environmental conditions.
• Simulation: Experience high-fidelity simulation environments (Gazebo, Isaac Sim, RViz) for sensor modeling.

What Will Set You Apart

• Scaling: Experience taking systems from prototype to large scale production.
• Field Environments : Experience developing systems for harsh field environments.
• Deployed Robotics: Experience working on robotics deployed in real world settings such as autonomous vehicles, drones, or ruggedized robots.
• Systems Level Robotics: Fluency across software, electrical, and mechanical systems.
• Autonomy Software: Knowledge of autonomy stacks used in robotics. As well as how sensor performance impacts autonomy algorithms.

Compensation and Benefits

Our salary range is between ($70,000 - $300,000 annual), but we take into consideration an individual’s background and experience in determining final salary; base pay offered may vary considerably depending on geographic location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Also, while we enjoy being together on-site, we are open to exploring a hybrid or remote option.

Why Join Field AI?

We are solving one of the world’s most complex challenges: deploying robots in unstructured, previously unknown environments. Our Field Foundational Models™ set a new standard in perception, planning, localization, and manipulation, ensuring our approach is explainable and safe for deployment.

You will have the opportunity to work with a world-class team that thrives on creativity, resilience, and bold thinking. With a decade-long track record of deploying solutions in the field, winning DARPA challenge segments, and bringing expertise from organizations like DeepMind, NASA JPL, Boston Dynamics, NVIDIA, Amazon, Tesla Autopilot, Cruise Self-Driving, Zoox, Toyota Research Institute, and SpaceX, we are set to achieve our ambitious goals.

Be Part of the Next Robotics Revolution

To tackle such ambitious challenges, we need a team as unique as our vision — innovators who go beyond conventional methods and are eager to tackle tough, uncharted questions. We’re seeking individuals who challenge the status quo, dive into uncharted territory, and bring interdisciplinary expertise. Our team requires not only top AI talent but also exceptional software developers, engineers, product designers, field deployment experts, and communicators.

We are headquartered in always-sunny Irvine, Southern California and have US based and global teammates.

Join us, shape the future, and be part of a fun, close-knit team on an exciting journey!

We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Candidates and employees are always evaluated based on merit, qualifications, and performance. We will never discriminate on the basis of race, color, 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.