Senior Software Engineer: Systems Engineer

University of Washington•Seattle, WA

2d•$1,380,000 - $1,800,000•Remote

About The Position

The Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, & Ecosystem Studies (CICOES) is hiring an experienced Senior Software Engineer to design, develop, integrate, test, and deploy full-stack solutions for cyber-physical, embedded, and real-time systems. The role involves hardware-software integration, advanced vision systems, deep learning, object detection and tracking, embedded platforms, and ROS-based system integration. The engineer contributes to research and development, technical proposals, and peer-reviewed publications, and must adapt to field research in diverse and challenging environments. The engineer reports to a Senior Research Scientist and works with UW and CICOES scientists to coordinate field deployments, lead system development and implementation, prepare equipment for KAMERA operations, and plan and execute fieldwork. Field duties may take place in remote Arctic environments and include troubleshooting and monitoring systems. Outside fieldwork, the engineer supports the development and implementation of VIAME AI models for species detection and classification, provides biological and ecological context for model improvements, and addresses data-processing issues such as camera misalignment and duplicate detections. The position also coordinates with external organizations to integrate imaging systems and hardware with survey aircraft; develop hardware and software for uncrewed aerial systems, including multispectral imaging; and build AI models and cloud-based processing systems and pipelines. The engineer collaborates with NOAA science centers, aircraft operations staff, other universities, and Kitware on system requirements, performance, safety, testing, deployment, and operationalization. The role is a permanent, regular, salaried, overtime-exempt position at 100% FTE. It is associated with a remote location; when attendance in Seattle is needed, the office is at NOAA’s Western Regional Center, Marine Mammal Laboratory, AFSC, NOAA Fisheries. The listed shift is first shift. The posting lists an annual pay range of $1,380,000 to $1,800,000 and refers applicants to the UW staff benefits website for benefits information.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in computer engineering, computer science, software engineering, or a related field; equivalent experience cannot substitute for this degree requirement.
At least 5 years of post-graduate professional experience in engineering roles.
Familiarity with computer vision, including R-CNN architectures, EO/IR sensor fusion, activity recognition, and multimodal camera streams.
Familiarity with hands-on integration of 2D and 3D vision systems, including stereo, ToF, LLS, and SfM, as well as LiDAR and UAS programming.
Programming experience in Python, C++, and Bash.
Experience working long hours in remote field conditions.
Experience working on imaging systems in small aircraft.
Ability to adapt to field research in diverse environments, including remote and challenging conditions.
Expertise in systems engineering, algorithm development, and real-time software solutions.
Skill integrating hardware and software for applications such as deep-learning image processing, tracking, and detection.
Demonstrated ability to integrate complex software nodes, drivers, and sensors into cohesive platforms.
Experience with embedded systems, including NVIDIA Jetson platforms.
Strong Python and C++ programming skills and proficiency with Docker, Git, and Ansible.
Experience working on crewed and uncrewed aerial platforms.
Experience deploying and testing robotics or vision systems in real-world field environments.
Experience developing image-processing pipelines in GCP cloud environments.

Nice To Haves

Expertise with development and integration of the KAMERA AI-enabled multimodal aerial imaging system.
More than 5 years of post-graduate professional engineering experience.
Extensive experience with embedded systems, including NVIDIA Jetson platforms.
Experience working long hours in challenging remote conditions such as the Arctic.
Experience with imaging systems in small aircraft during scientific survey operations over the ocean.
Experience developing image-processing pipelines in GCP cloud environments.

Responsibilities

Lead complex systems integration, combining software nodes, camera drivers, and object trackers into cohesive platforms.
Develop software architecture using Python, Bash, ROS, tmux, and Supervisor across multiple hardware nodes.
Manage multimodal data streams and create synchronous replay systems for multiple cameras across distributed hardware.
Work with research scientists to understand data-processing routines, requirements, and challenges, and develop cloud-based solutions using GCP to improve efficiency.
Train and deploy computer vision models, including R-CNN-based object and person detectors using EO/IR sensor fusion.
Implement and evaluate 3D vision technologies, including stereoscopic, time-of-flight (ToF), laser line scanner, structured-light, and structure-from-motion (SfM) systems.
Program and test autonomous vehicles and integrate sensor payloads such as LiDAR and stereo cameras onto Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs).
Deploy technology in remote field environments, including extreme heat and cold and small aircraft operating at low altitude over the ocean; manage real-world vision-system testing and work directly with research scientists.
Lead projects designing and managing complex mechanical and systems engineering under safety and regulatory frameworks such as NRC and DOE.
Collaborate with research scientists, aircraft engineers, pilots, and other multidisciplinary partners to integrate, test, and deploy systems.
Coordinate field deployments and algorithm development with CICOES personnel and external organizations.
Prepare field gear and equipment for operation of the KAMERA system; plan, schedule, and execute fieldwork with UW and CICOES scientists.
Troubleshoot technical systems during fieldwork, develop solutions, implement them, and monitor systems to confirm resolution.
Develop and implement VIAME AI models for species detection and classification, incorporating biological and ecological context and addressing camera misalignment and duplicate detection suppression.
Coordinate integration of KAMERA or other imaging systems with survey aircraft and develop hardware and software for uncrewed aerial systems, including multispectral imaging systems.
Collaborate with Polar Ecosystem Program colleagues to define system performance metrics and capabilities, address engineering and troubleshooting requirements, and develop cloud-based animal detection and classification solutions for imagery in modalities such as infrared and color.
Work with NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service Science Centers to assess detection rates, metadata, system reliability, algorithm performance, and development priorities; devise improvements, timelines, and milestones and guide operationalization of AI processes and pipelines.
Coordinate with Aircraft Operations Center staff, including aerospace engineers, pilots, and maintainers, to account for aircraft operational constraints, power, weight, cooling, avionics, weight and balance, aviation safety, endurance, and flight procedures when integrating systems.
Direct and collaborate on the design and development of aerial and aquatic imaging systems, cloud-based image-processing pipelines, camera mounts, imagery-analysis software, and field-data collection software.
Contribute to research and development, technical proposals, and peer-reviewed publications.