Talent.com
Perception Engineer
Perception EngineerAdvantra Consulting Group • San Francisco, CA, United States
Perception Engineer

Perception Engineer

Advantra Consulting Group • San Francisco, CA, United States
3 days ago
Job type
  • Full-time
  • Quick Apply
Job description

Role : Perception Engineer

Location : San Francisco, CA.

On site. Full time.

About the job :

Advantra is partnering with an early-stage defense technology startup in San Francisco to hire a Perception Engineer to build and deploy vision and sensor-fusion systems for edge-deployed laser defense platforms.

About the role :

You will own the end-to-end perception stack, integrating multi-modal sensors, developing real-time detection models, and deploying ML and CV pipelines on edge hardware. You will collaborate with firmware, hardware, and controls teams to ensure high-throughput, reliable perception for laser defense systems.

Responsibilities :

  • Design, train, validate, and fine-tune machine learning and deep learning models for detection, classification, and segmentation.
  • Integrate and fuse data from RGB, thermal, LiDAR / ToF, IMU, and encoder sensors to generate robust real-time regions of interest.
  • Implement advanced computer vision algorithms for low SNR detection, deconvolution, and motion isolation.
  • Collaborate with hardware teams to integrate sensors over GigE Vision, USB3 Vision, CAN, SPI, MIPI, and I C.
  • Develop and debug embedded firmware in C / C++ or Rust for microcontrollers and FPGAs within RTOS environments.
  • Build scalable data ingestion, labeling, augmentation, and storage pipelines for simulated and field data.
  • Optimize inference frameworks for GPU / FPGA edge deployment.

Develop dashboards and telemetry for drift analysis, hardware monitoring, and automated retraining triggers.

  • Author technical documentation and mentor junior engineers on sensor-fusion and embedded firmware best practices.

    • Core requirements :

  • 3 to 6 years in computer vision, sensor-fusion, or robotics perception roles.
  • Proficient in C++ and Python.
  • Hands-on experience with ML frameworks (TensorFlow, PyTorch) and real-time inference engines (TensorRT, OpenVINO).
  • Experience integrating and calibrating multi-modal sensors (cameras, thermal imagers, LiDAR / ToF, IMUs).
  • Firmware development experience on microcontrollers (STM32, NXP, TI) and FPGAs using VHDL / Verilog in RTOS environments.
  • Familiarity with Docker and CI / CD pipelines for ML workloads.
  • BS or MS in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, or related field.
  • Strong problem-solving, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
  • Ability to deploy ML models and CV algorithms on edge hardware with high throughput.
  • Must be able to obtain a security clearance.

    • Nice to have :

  • Experience with Edge-AI optimization (quantization, pruning).
  • FPGA or embedded GPU platform experience.
  • Background in defense or safety-critical systems.
  • Familiarity with cybersecurity guidelines and secure coding practices.

    • How to apply :

    Email careers@theadvantra.com with links to shipped work and a short note on what you owned. Company name shared after the intro.

    About Us :

    Advantra-Upstart Crew is a search program inside Advantra Consulting. We partner with early stage and high growth startups to hire the top 2% in Tech and GTM. We run end to end searches, from single role headhunts to full team build outs, using domain experts and a vetted network to deliver tight shortlists. We stay close to founders and candidates so the relationship lasts beyond the first hire.

    Create a job alert for this search

    Engineer Perception • San Francisco, CA, United States