Staff Electrical Engineer (Sensors & Imaging Systems)

Roboticsconnected; Mountain View (WY); On-site; USD 180,000 - 320,000; Full time

Job summary

Rhoda AI is building generalist robotic perception at scale in Mountain View, CA. We seek an electrical engineering leader to architect imaging subsystems, select cameras and sensors, and own the camera signal chain and ISP tuning.

You will collaborate across hardware, firmware, ML, mechanical, and manufacturing teams to push designs from prototype to mass production. The role emphasizes hands-on lab validation, systems integration, and mentoring engineers, with a focus on delivering robust

Qualifications

• Experience designing electrical/sensor subsystems for shipping products.
• Deep knowledge of CMOS sensors, imaging optics, and ISP tuning.
• Experience with high-speed interfaces and signal integrity.

Responsibilities

• Architect end-to-end imaging and sensing subsystems meeting performance targets.
• Drive camera and sensor selection across CMOS, ToF, mmWave, LiDAR, and thermal modules.
• Own camera signal chain, including ISP tuning and RAW/RGB pipelines.
• Lead sensor fusion hardware design for perception workloads.
• Define lighting strategies for active and passive imaging.
• Specify and review schematics, layouts, and BOMs; ensure EMI/EMC compliance.
• Develop characterization plans with lab measurements and qualification methods.
• Collaborate with firmware/embedded, CV/ML, mechanical, and manufacturing teams.
• Mentor engineers; represent EE in architectural decisions.
• Engage with external vendors to evaluate roadmaps and resolve issues.

Skills

CMOS imaging systems

ISP tuning

Sensor fusion

Camera interfaces (MIPI CSI-2)

System-level architecture

Lab debugging

Cross-functional leadership

Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC)

Education

B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in Electrical/Computer Engineering or related field

Tools

MIPI CSI-2

D-PHY

C-PHY

Oscilloscope

Spectrum analyzer

PCB/layout review tools

Job description

At Rhoda AI, we’re building the next generation of generalist intelligent robots. We own the full robotics stack from high-performance hardware and robot systems to the infrastructure and state-of-the-art foundation world models that control our robots. Our robots are designed to be generalists capable of operating in complex, real-world environments and handling long-tail edge cases, made possible by our cutting edge research and end-to-end system design. We've raised over $450M and are investing aggressively in model research, infrastructure, hardware development, and manufacturing scale-up to make generalist robotics a reality.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Architect end-to-end imaging and sensing subsystems, including camera selection, optics interface, illumination, and electrical integration, to meet product-level performance, power, and cost targets.
• Drive camera and sensor selection across CMOS image sensors, ToF, mmWave radar, LiDAR, and thermal modules — evaluating resolution, FOV, sensitivity, dynamic range, frame rate, latency, and SWaP (size, weight, and power).
• Own the camera signal chain, including ISP tuning and configuration, RAW/RGB pipelines, MIPI CSI-2 / parallel RGB interfaces, and characterization across lighting, temperature, and motion conditions.
• Lead sensor fusion hardware design combining cameras, depth sensors, radar, and LiDAR for perception and object-detection workloads.
• Define lighting and illumination strategies for active and passive imaging, including IR illuminators, structured light, and synchronized strobe designs.
• Specify and review schematics, layouts, and BOMs for sensor boards, flex cables, connectors, and power-delivery networks; ensure signal-integrity and EMI/EMC compliance for high-speed interfaces.
• Develop characterization and validation plans with lab measurements (oscilloscope, spectrum analyzer, optical bench) and statistical bring-up/qualification methodologies.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with firmware/embedded, computer-vision/ML, mechanical, optical, and manufacturing engineering to drive designs from prototype through DVT, PVT, and mass production.
• Mentor and influence engineers across the org; review designs, set best practices, and represent electrical engineering in architectural decisions.
• Engage with external vendors and partners (sensor suppliers, module houses, ODMs) to evaluate roadmaps, negotiate specs, and resolve technical issues.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE

• B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Applied Physics, or a related field.
• Staff level: 10+ years of relevant industry experience designing electrical/sensor subsystems for shipping products.
• Principal level: 15+ years with a demonstrated track record of leading the technical direction of multiple high-volume sensor-based products.

CAMERAS & IMAGING

• Deep, hands-on knowledge of CMOS image sensors and end-to-end camera systems, including the trade-offs that drive camera selection (resolution, pixel size, QE, SNR, HDR, rolling vs. global shutter).
• Strong understanding of optics fundamentals — Field of View (FOV), focal length, F-number, depth of field, distortion, and lens/sensor matching.
• Image Signal Processing (ISP): demosaic, AE/AWB/AF, denoise, tone-mapping, color correction, lens shading, and ISP tuning for target use cases.
• Camera interfaces: MIPI CSI-2 / D-PHY / C-PHY, parallel RGB, and RAW pipelines — including timing, lane allocation, signal integrity, and bring-up.
• Experience designing illumination / lighting subsystems for cameras (visible, IR, NIR, synchronized strobes).

DEPTH, RANGING & PERCEPTION SENSORS

• Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensors: iToF and dToF principles, modulation schemes, multipath and ambient-light mitigation, depth accuracy characterization.
• mmWave radar for object detection: FMCW radar fundamentals, antenna arrays, range/Doppler/angle estimation, and integration of radar modules at the board and system level.
• Thermal cameras: microbolometer-based LWIR sensors, NUC, thermal calibration, and integration trade-offs.
• LiDAR: working knowledge of mechanical, MEMS, and solid-state LiDAR architectures and their electrical/interface requirements.

CORE ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

• Strong fundamentals in analog and digital design, schematic capture, PCB layout review, power delivery, and signal integrity for high-speed interfaces.
• Hands-on lab debug skills: oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, spectrum analyzers, optical/imaging test equipment.
• Experience taking products through EVT → DVT → PVT → MP and resolving production issues.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; able to drive alignment across hardware, firmware, ML, and product stakeholders.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS (NICE-TO-HAVE)

• NVIDIA platform experience — Jetson (Orin, Xavier), DRIVE, or other NVIDIA SoC/GPU platforms used for camera and perception workloads.
• Other high-end GPU / accelerator exposure — Qualcomm, Ambarella, AMD, or comparable platforms for vision and AI inference at the edge.
• FPGA exposure — familiarity with FPGA-based sensor interfacing, bridging, and prototyping (Xilinx/AMD, Intel/Altera, Lattice). Embedded HDL coding is not required; an architectural and integration-level understanding is sufficient.
• Acoustic & audio hardware — experience with MEMS microphones, microphone arrays, 3D acoustic field capture / beamforming, and audio front-end design.
• Speaker driver / amplifier design — Class-D amplifiers, transducer selection, and audio output subsystem integration.
• Experience with sensor fusion software stacks, ROS, or working closely with computer-vision / ML teams.
• Published work, patents, or conference contributions in imaging, sensing, or perception.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

• Within 6 months: become the go-to technical authority for sensor and imaging subsystems; deliver a clear technical roadmap for the imaging stack.
• Within 12 months: lead the electrical architecture of at least one major sensor-driven product or platform release.
• Ongoing: raise the engineering bar through design reviews, mentorship, and reusable architectures that scale across product lines.