Robotics Engineer - Autonomous Drone System

Meta•Menlo Park, CA

About The Position

Meta is seeking a System Engineer to join our Infra Robotics team. This team implements advanced robotics technologies to enable efficient and safe data center operations. The Drone Inspection & Data Integration Engineer is responsible for integrating autonomous drone platforms and inspection data workflows into Meta’s facility operations. This includes solution architecture, requirements gathering, system integration, verification and validation, concept of operation (ConOps) development, field pilots, product release (including site acceptance testing), and post-release support. The role involves close collaboration with software, hardware, Facility Operations partners, and infrastructure stakeholders to enable automated inspections—from autonomous flight and sensor data capture to processing, analytics, and workflow integration. The ideal candidate has hands-on experience with autonomous drones, perception/navigation (SLAM, VIO, LiDAR/vision fusion), inspection workflows, and data pipelines for processing imagery, telemetry, or 3D mapping. Experience with drone operations, flight testing, inspection automation, and enterprise data integration is expected. Demonstrated experience in robotics technologies—including sensing, planning, navigation, and data processing—and the ability to troubleshoot across hardware and software is preferred. You will collaborate with and influence internal stakeholders, including cross-functional teams and individuals at all levels. This is a full-time position based in Fremont, CA, or a Meta NA data-center site, with domestic and international travel required.

Requirements

BS in Engineering (Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical, Mechanical, Aerospace, or equivalent)
10+ years of experience in robotics, autonomous drones, inspection automation, or related mechatronic systems, including 3+ years of hands-on experience with drone perception or autonomy systems (e.g., SLAM, VIO, LiDAR/vision fusion, obstacle avoidance, localization)
Experience with drone operations and flight testing, including mission execution, payload operation, and flight-safety practices
Experience with the BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) permitting process for drone operations, including preparing and submitting flight requests, ensuring compliance with aviation regulations, and coordinating with internal and external stakeholders to secure necessary approvals. Familiarity with risk mitigation, pilot certification, and insurance requirements for BVLOS operations is essential
Experience capturing and processing structured inspection data (imagery, video, telemetry, mapping, or environmental sensing)
Familiarity with data-pipeline workflows such as ingestion, ETL, labeling, storage, indexing, or analytics
Experience integrating hardware, autonomy software, and sensing systems into a cohesive robotic or drone platform
Familiarity with QA/QC testing, validation, and verification for autonomy systems or data pipelines
Effective communication and leadership skills, able to collaborate across cross-functional engineering and operations teams
Proficiency in at least one higher-level programming language (e.g., Python, C++, or similar) for automation, data handling, or prototyping
Effective troubleshooting skills across autonomy behavior, perception failures, data inconsistencies, and system-integration issues
Ability to interpret inspection workflows, asset requirements, or operational constraints to inform engineering decisions
Ability to travel up to 30% domestically and internationally to Meta data centers and test locations

Nice To Haves

Master’s in a relevant field
Experience with indoor or GPS-denied drone navigation, including SLAM/VIO tuning and sensor calibration
Hands-on experience with drone fleet management, mission orchestration, or remote operations tools
Familiarity with cloud or edge-based data pipelines, including data ingestion, indexing, and analytics workflows
Experience with ROS/ROS2 or similar robotics middleware for integrating autonomy, sensing, and mission-control software
Knowledge of multi-modal sensing (LiDAR, depth, stereo, thermal/IR) for inspection and mapping tasks
Experience developing or supporting inspection analytics, anomaly detection, or automated defect-classification workflows
Familiarity with data center or facility inspection workflows and asset-monitoring best practices

Responsibilities

Partner with Facility Operations, infrastructure, and robotics teams to understand inspection workflows, operational requirements, and opportunities to automate inspections with autonomous drone systems
Translate inspection, data-collection, and autonomy needs into product requirements and technical specifications, identifying tradeoffs across sensing, navigation, platform capability, and operational constraints
Develop drone-based inspection capabilities, including autonomous navigation, mission execution, sensor/payload operation, and structured capture of imagery, video, telemetry, and mapping data
Collect and analyze inspection workflows—including mission patterns, environmental conditions, safety constraints, and data-quality needs—to inform autonomy, sensing, and data-integration design
Support the design and integration of data pipelines for ingestion, normalization, processing, labeling, analytics, and routing results into Facility Operations systems
Participate in architecture and design reviews to surface gaps in autonomy stack behavior, sensing performance, data flow, safety considerations, or system integration
Build and test prototypes to validate navigation robustness, perception accuracy, and data-quality metrics in representative facility environments
Develop and execute test plans for autonomous inspection workflows, covering functional behavior, environmental robustness, edge cases, and data-quality verification
Perform root-cause analysis for navigation drift, perception faults, data inconsistencies, mission failures, or integration issues with internal tools
Support field pilots, site acceptance testing, operational workflow definition, and post-release improvements for drone inspection systems
Contribute to product and technology roadmaps for autonomous inspection, sensing improvements, and data-integration enhancements
Engage with drone vendors, autonomy providers, and data-platform partners to evaluate new capabilities and industry trends
Visit data center sites for flight tests, data-collection exercises, system evaluations, and collaboration with local subject matter experts
This role requires effective communication, leadership, interpersonal, organizational, engineering, program management, and analytical skills