Sensor Systems Engineer, Autonomous Vehicles

About the Role

FieldAI is seeking a Sensor Systems Engineer to support system and component level design, integration, and validation for sensing systems on wheeled robotic platforms. This role is for the FieldAI Federal Team, working on projects connected to the U.S. government.

What You Will Get To Do

1. Sensor System Design

• Sensor Architecture: Define sensing requirements, and identify, test, and select sensors.
• Systems Integration: Integrate sensors with electrical, mechanical, and software systems, ensuring compatibility.
• Spatial Performance: Architect systems to meet spatial sampling performance requirements.
• Temporal Performance: Implement and validate synchronization strategies for latency minimization.

2. Sensor System Implementation

• Performance Characterization: Evaluate sensor performance under real-world environmental conditions.
• Calibration: Design and execute intrinsic and extrinsic calibrations.
• Optimization: Tune sensor configurations and processing pipelines for optimal performance.
• Documentation: Create timing diagrams, sensor maps, coordinate transforms, and maintain configuration files.

3. Sensor System Production & Servicing

• Build: Procure sensors, develop QA checks, and support manufacturing at scale.
• Debug: Conduct root cause analysis of sensor system issues.
• Monitor: Develop protocols for monitoring sensing system health and data quality during deployments.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• Hands-On Sensors Experience: With perception sensors such as LiDAR, depth cameras, IMUs, GPS.
• Systems Thinking: Cross-functional collaboration experience.
• Sensor Physics: Strong foundation in optics, signal processing, and electromagnetic wave propagation.
• Lab Skills: Hands-on testing, calibration, and debugging skills (e.g., oscilloscopes, logs, vibration/thermal setups).
• Communication Protocols: Experience with USB, Ethernet, GMSL, CAN, I2C, and CSI.
• Computer & Software: Experience with ROS/ROS2, sensor drivers, coordinate transforms (TF), and timing protocols (PTP, NTP).
• Timing & Triggers: Experience with timestamping, synchronization, triggering, and latency constraints.
• Calibration & Characterization: Experience designing and executing intrinsic, extrinsic, and temporal calibrations, and sensor characterization.
• Simulation: Experience with high-fidelity simulation environments (e.g., Gazebo, Isaac Sim, RViz).
• U.S. Person Eligibility: Required for the FieldAI Federal Team.

Qualifications

• Education: B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Engineering Physics, Physics, or a related field.
• Experience Level: Recruiting across a wide range of experience levels.

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.
• Systems Level Robotics: Fluency across software, electrical, and mechanical systems.
• Autonomy Software: Knowledge of autonomy stacks and how sensor performance impacts autonomy algorithms.