Perception & Sensor Fusion Engineer
About this role
Engineers who thrive on turning noisy, real-world data into reliable operational systems will find a strong fit at Saildrone. Operating out of the headquarters in Alameda, California, the maritime defense team builds autonomous unmanned surface vehicles that support national security missions around the clock. The engineering group focuses on combining imperfect observations from multiple sensors into clear, actionable tracks for autonomous navigation and remote operators.
Daily responsibilities involve designing perception and sensor-fusion algorithms, training and deploying machine learning models, and integrating these capabilities with cloud and production software. The team exists to advance maritime domain awareness through edge computing and advanced sensing, creating reliable intelligence in uncontrolled environments.
What you will do
- Design and implement perception and sensor-fusion algorithms that merge observations across multiple sensor modalities.
- Build and assess algorithms dedicated to object detection, classification, tracking, and state estimation.
- Train, evaluate, and deploy machine learning models where appropriate for perception challenges.
- Construct algorithms that utilize data from one sensor to cue or guide additional sensors like PTZ cameras.
- Examine real-world sensor data to diagnose system failures, edge cases, and performance bottlenecks.
- Integrate perception outputs directly with cloud applications and production software utilized by mission operators.
- Validate and systematically improve perception capabilities using operational data gathered from the field.
What you need
- Demonstrated software engineering and algorithm development capabilities utilizing Python and/or C++.
- Practical background working with perception, computer vision, sensor fusion, tracking, or related robotics algorithms.
- Experience handling real sensor data and building systems capable of reliable performance in uncontrolled environments.
- Solid understanding of core domains including object detection, multi-object tracking, state estimation, or sensor fusion.
- Background in developing and evaluating machine learning models specifically for perception tasks.
- Proven capability to translate noisy sensor observations into reliable, measurable system outputs.
- Experience shepherding algorithms through development, integration, and final validation within a production system.
Nice to have
- Experience with PyTorch or another modern ML framework.
- Experience with multimodal fusion involving cameras, radar, LiDAR, sonar, or other sensors.
- Experience with active perception, sensor cueing, visual tracking, or camera control.
- Experience deploying perception systems on autonomous vehicles, robotics, aerospace, or other physical systems.
Benefits
- Competitive Paid Time Off (PTO) accrual plus a robust annual holiday schedule and paid sick leave.
- Premium, multi-tier Medical, Dental, and Vision plans with significant company contributions.
- Equity grants allowing participation in long-term company value creation.
- Access to a 401(k) retirement plan with flexible pre-tax and Roth payroll contribution options.
- Annual professional development reimbursement program for continuous learning.
- Relocation assistance for eligible roles.
Skills and tech stack
Questions candidates ask
What is the salary range for this position?
The base salary range for this position is $144,500 to $300,000 USD. Actual compensation may vary based on skills, experience, and qualifications.
Where is the team located?
Saildrone's manufacturing and R&D headquarters are located in Alameda, California, United States. Relocation support is available for eligible roles.
What technologies and frameworks are used?
The tech stack includes Python and C++ for software engineering and algorithm development. Additional experience with PyTorch, modern machine learning frameworks, and multimodal sensor fusion is also utilized.