Lead Perception Engineer

Blue Water Autonomy•Lexington, MA

1d•$215,000 - $250,000•Hybrid

About The Position

We are seeking a Lead Perception Engineer based out of our Lexington, MA headquarters with hybrid/field-based options to architect, implement, and operationalize the end-to-end perception, sensor ingestion, and sensor fusion pipeline for autonomous maritime navigation. This is a foundational, hands-on technical leadership role. You will personally build the initial perception and data ingestion stack while establishing the technical direction and standards for a future perception team. The ideal candidate is equally comfortable designing system architecture, writing performance-critical code, and working in the field to ensure sensors and data pipelines operate reliably in real conditions. You will work closely with hardware, autonomy, and systems engineering teams to ensure sensor choices, data ingestion, and perception outputs scale with the company’s roadmap. Autonomy at sea introduces unique perception challenges—long-range sensing, dense and ambiguous scenes, dynamic backgrounds, adverse weather, and limited infrastructure. Solving these problems requires engineers who can build robust, production-ready perception systems, not just prototypes.

Requirements

7+ years of experience building perception systems for robotics, autonomous vehicles, or complex real-world systems.
Deep expertise in computer vision and perception, including detection, tracking, and sensor fusion.
Strong proficiency in modern C++ and Python for production systems.
Experience designing sensor data ingestion pipelines for high-throughput, time-sensitive systems.
Demonstrated ability to work across software, hardware, and systems boundaries.
Comfortable working hands-on with sensors, prototypes, and field-deployed systems.
Clear technical communication and strong ownership from concept through deployment.

Nice To Haves

Experience with GPU programming and acceleration, including CUDA.
Experience optimizing perception or ingestion pipelines for real-time or embedded constraints.
Prior technical leadership of perception or robotics teams.
Experience designing perception systems from a blank slate through operational deployment.
Background in robotics or autonomy companies with strong hardware–software integration.
Experience operating in unstructured outdoor environments (marine, off-road, industrial).

Responsibilities

Design and implement the full perception stack for autonomous maritime navigation, including: Multi-camera perception (detection, classification, tracking) Sensor fusion across vision, navigation sensors, and future modalities Interfaces to planning, control, and autonomy systems
Architect sensor data ingestion pipelines, including: Reliable, time-synchronized ingestion of high-bandwidth sensor streams Scalable abstractions that support evolving sensor configurations Data formats and APIs that enable downstream perception, logging, and replay
Define system-level requirements, performance metrics, and validation strategies for perception and sensor ingestion in maritime environments.
Build production-quality perception and ingestion pipelines in modern C++ and Python, from raw sensor input through onboard runtime deployment.
Develop and deploy machine learning–based perception models, including optimization for onboard and embedded compute.
Where appropriate, implement GPU-accelerated components (e.g., CUDA) to meet latency, throughput, and power constraints.
Own dataset curation, model evaluation, regression testing, and continuous performance improvement.
Lead and participate directly in field testing, sensor bring-up, and data collection on vessels.
Design and execute sensor calibration, synchronization, and validation procedures.
Build robust logging, replay, and annotation workflows to ensure high-quality training and evaluation data.
Work hands-on in real operating conditions to validate both sensors and ingestion pipelines.
Partner closely with Mechanical, Electrical, and Systems Engineering teams to: Define camera and sensor requirements Influence sensor selection, placement, and mounting Ensure ingestion pipelines reflect real hardware constraints and failure modes
Collaborate with autonomy and controls engineers to define perception outputs that enable safe and reliable navigation decisions.
Serve as the technical owner of perception and sensor ingestion within the autonomy organization.
Establish engineering best practices, coding standards, and architectural patterns.
Mentor and help hire future perception engineers as the team grows.

Benefits

Incredibly high-caliber teammates. You’ll work directly with our co-founders Rylan, Scott, and Austin.
A fast-paced, creative working environment that offers a lot of room for ownership and growth.
Opportunity to join a meaningful mission that protects American and our Democracy.
Expected Salary Range: $215,000-$250,000 annual base salary. Final compensation will depend on experience and skill level
Startup equity options
Generous PTO, medical, dental, and vision coverage

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