Principal Perception Hardware Engineer

AIM•Seattle, WA

About The Position

AIM builds autonomy for the real world: robots that move mountains. Our systems bring together software, hardware, and robotics to turn heavy equipment into intelligent machines that reshape how earthmoving is done. We're looking for a Principal Perception Hardware Engineer to own the sensor system architecture for our autonomy platform, from choosing sensing modalities and sensors through placement, requirements, validation, and production readiness. You will set the technical direction across hardware, perception, and vehicle teams, make the final calls on sensor-suite trade-offs that shape our multi-year roadmap, and help build our sensor systems team and capability from the ground up. We're hiring at Staff or Principal level, matched to experience and scope.

Requirements

Experience at Principal level owning sensor systems for autonomous vehicles or robots: setting technical direction across teams and defining standards that shape long-term product direction.
Sensor-suite architecture, requirements definition, and trade studies, including sensor selection, placement, and coverage and occlusion analysis.
Hands-on experience with cameras and LiDAR.
Sensor validation, calibration, and characterization: designing test campaigns, defining acceptance criteria, and root-causing failures across the hardware and software boundary.
A track record of taking a sensor suite from prototype into fielded deployment on real vehicles or robots, not only in the lab or simulation.
Experience selecting compute platforms in partnership with embedded, software, and perception teams.

Nice To Haves

Experience with radar or other optical sensor modalities
Expertise in sensor cleaning systems for degraded conditions.
Experience leading data-collection test campaigns with prototype vehicles in new operating domains.
Supplier management for sensors and related components.
Experience helping build a sensor or hardware team as it scales.

Responsibilities

Own the end-to-end sensor architecture for the autonomy platform: modality selection, sensor selection, placement, and integration.
Run trade studies on coverage, occlusion, performance, cost, and reliability, and make the final call on sensor-suite trade-offs.
Turn product, business, customer and autonomy needs into sensor and subsystem requirements.
Select the compute platform together with the embedded, software, and perception teams.
Design test campaigns and define acceptance criteria for sensors and the full sensing system.
Build calibration and characterization processes that hold up on real machines in the field.
Root-cause failures across the hardware and software boundary.
Take the sensor suite from early prototypes through deployment on heavy equipment at real job sites.
Design for ruggedness, retrofit onto existing machines, and degraded conditions such as dust, weather, and vibration.
Work with suppliers to source, qualify, and support sensors and components.
Set technical direction across hardware, perception, and vehicle teams, and define the sensing standards that guide our multi-year roadmap.
Help build the sensor system engineering capability from the ground up, and develop the engineers for it.