Machine Vision Applications Engineer

Overview Corporation•San Francisco, CA

2d•$150,000 - $200,000•Onsite

About The Position

Overview.ai is seeking an experienced Machine Vision Applications Engineer to own complex machine vision applications from initial feasibility through production deployment. The engineer will serve as a technical expert in optics, lighting, image acquisition, and inspection performance, working hands-on in the San Francisco lab and with customers on manufacturing challenges. This hands-on role involves building vision systems, evaluating hardware, leading proof-of-concept testing, troubleshooting difficult inspection problems, and making technical recommendations that influence customer deployments and product development. The position applies machine vision fundamentals to AI-powered industrial inspection and works closely with Applications, Sales, Product, Engineering, customers, and field teams. The role is based primarily in the San Francisco office, with travel up to 50%, typically lower. Compensation is listed as $150,000–$200,000 OTE.

Requirements

At least 5 years of hands-on experience in industrial machine vision, vision applications engineering, or optical inspection systems.
Deep understanding of machine vision fundamentals, including optics, lenses, lighting, sensors, image acquisition, and camera configuration.
Proven experience designing, building, and optimizing industrial vision systems for manufacturing applications.
Strong understanding of lens selection, field of view, working distance, depth of field, resolution, and optical trade-offs.
Experience with advanced lighting techniques and challenging image acquisition problems.
Ability to independently lead vision feasibility studies and proof-of-concept projects.
Experience troubleshooting inspection performance in production environments.
Familiarity with traditional machine vision tools and inspection techniques.
Working knowledge of AI-based vision, including classification, object detection, segmentation, and model evaluation.
Strong technical communication skills, including documenting findings and explaining technical trade-offs.
Comfort working directly with hardware, running experiments, and solving problems independently.
Based in the San Francisco Bay Area and able to work primarily from the San Francisco office.

Nice To Haves

Experience with deep learning-based industrial inspection.
Familiarity with telecentric optics, advanced lighting configurations, and precision inspection.
Experience with high-speed production lines, challenging defect detection, or variable manufacturing environments.
Exposure to PLCs, industrial automation, triggering, and production-line integration.
Experience working directly with manufacturing customers.
Experience mentoring engineers or serving as a technical subject matter expert.

Responsibilities

Lead feasibility studies, proof-of-concept testing, and technical validation for complex industrial inspection applications.
Select, configure, and optimize cameras, lenses, lighting, filters, and optical components.
Own technical vision experimentation, testing standards, hardware evaluation, and application development in the San Francisco lab.
Troubleshoot and optimize image quality, environmental variability, false rejects, missed defects, and inspection consistency.
Work with image collection, labeling, model training, and evaluation to improve AI-based inspection performance.
Partner with customers and field teams to troubleshoot vision challenges and support successful production-line deployment.
Evaluate emerging vision technologies and recommend improvements to hardware and inspection capabilities.
Mentor less experienced engineers, establish best practices, and provide technical guidance across teams.
Collaborate with Product and Engineering to translate application challenges into product improvements.
Document technical findings and explain technical trade-offs to customers and internal teams.