Senior Staff AI Software Engineer, Perception

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in California, +2 more states.

📋 Description

• Take charge of the technical vision and system architecture for Perception, ensuring safety and efficiency as Digit progresses into open, dynamic settings.

• Evaluate architectural tradeoffs among sensing modalities, model design, redundancy, and compute budget while maintaining a balance between safety, latency, and robustness.

• Remain actively engaged by prototyping, validating, or constructing essential system components.

• Collaborate with functional safety and systems engineering teams to establish safety-case strategies and the necessary evidence.

• Assist in system-level failure mode and hazard analysis.

• Assess emerging research and technologies for potential integration into future robot architectures.

• Set standards for verification and validation of ML-based perception systems, particularly in rare and safety-critical scenarios.

• Work in conjunction with navigation, controls, and hardware teams.

• Provide mentorship to engineers and technical leads.

• Represent the architecture to executive leadership, partners, and customers as required.

⛳️ Requirements

• Over 8 years of experience in machine learning/perception for robotics, with a proven history of defining system architecture.

• A Master's or Ph.D. degree in Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Computer Science, or a related discipline.

• A solid foundation in machine learning, robotics, and intelligent systems.

• Experience in architecting ML/perception systems for safety-critical or safety-rated environments, such as human detection, functional safety, automotive, robotics, or similar regulated sectors.

• Profound expertise in deep convolutional neural networks, multi-object tracking, data association, supervised learning, and pose estimation.

• Experience in making system-level tradeoffs among sensing modalities, redundancy, and compute limitations on embedded/real-time hardware.

• A history of setting technical direction at the organizational level.

• Direct experience in supporting a safety case or certification submission.

• Experience in designing redundant or diversified sensing systems for safety-rated perception.

• Experience in developing perception systems for humanoid or legged robots.

• Experience in presenting technical architecture to regulators, third-party certifiers, or safety auditors.

• Significant experience with FMEA, hazard analysis, and safety case strategies for autonomous or robotic systems.

🏝️ Benefits

• 401(k) Plan with a 6% company match.

• Company stock options.

• 100% company-paid medical, dental, vision, and short/long-term disability insurance for employees.

• Benefits eligibility starting on the first day of employment.

• Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

• Flexible, unlimited PTO and 12 company holidays, including a winter shutdown, for exempt employees.

• 10 vacation days, paid sick leave, and 12 company holidays, including a winter shutdown, annually, for non-exempt employees.

• Catered lunches four times a week and healthy snacks and refreshments at Salem and Pittsburgh locations.

• Generous paid parental leave programs.

• Flexible work arrangements.

• Professional development and tuition reimbursement programs.

• Relocation assistance for eligible roles.

• Annual discretionary bonus for eligible roles.