Remote role · principa

Principal Software Engineer, Perception Architect

Zoox

hybrid,Foster City, CA Software Development Full-time

Checked 15 hours ago

Salary$410k - $492k

Before you apply

Role details

The practical picture

Employment: Full-time

Role signal brief

The role, at a glance

Extracted from the source posting · 95% confidence

Zoox is hiring a Principal Software Engineer to act as a Perception Architect, driving the evolution of end-to-end perception systems for autonomous products. The role involves leading hardware-software co-design, managing the transition to AI innovation pipelines, and ensuring safety for edge deployment. Candidates require a graduate degree in a technical field, 8+ years in autonomous systems, and deep expertise in computer vision and sensor fusion.

Compensation: USD 410,000–492,000 / year

What you need

8+ years in autonomous systems with at least 2 years in an architectural role
Experience shipping and evolving perception systems
Ph.D. or MS in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, or related field with a focus on Computer Vision
Mastery of Computer Vision, Deep learning, Foundational models, Sensor Fusion, and State Estimation (SLAM, EKF/UKF)
Deep understanding of sensor modalities including Camera, lidar, radar
Deep understanding of hardware acceleration, component budgeting and transition to new platforms (C++/Python)

What you will own

Define and evolve the end-to-end perception architecture, assessing new sensing technologies to the final fused world model
Partner with Compute and Sensing teams to influence hardware-software co-design, ensuring algorithms have sufficient computational resources
Lead the transition from current pipelines to AI innovation pipelines while maintaining safety and interpretability for edge deployment
Evaluate emerging technologies for viability within the 3-5 year roadmap
Collaborate on rigorous performance metrics for latency and accuracy across diverse edge-computing environments
Lead cross-functional teams to create plans for moving to new platforms and coordinate projects to align with organizational direction

Core skills

Computer VisionSensor FusionState EstimationC++PythonDeep LearningHardware-Software Co-DesignLinear AlgebraProbabilistic Robotics

computer vision sensor fusion state estimation c++

Role brief

Be the visionary Perception Architect designing the sensory "nervous system" for our next generation of autonomous products. Evolve our end-to-end perception architecture, serving as the essential liaison between Sensing teams and the core ML system. Drive architectural evolution toward next-generation sensing and compute platforms by influencing Hardware-Software Co-Design.

In this role, you will:

System Synthesis: Define the end-to-end perception architecture—assess new sensing (LiDAR, Radar, Camera) to the final fused world model.

Hardware-Software Co-Design: Partner with Compute and Sensing teams to influence the design, ensuring our algorithms have the "computational oxygen" they need.

Algorithmic Strategy: Lead the transition from current pipelines to AI innovation pipelines, while maintaining the safety and interpretability required for edge deployment.

Future-Proofing: Evaluate emerging technologies and determine their viability for the 3-5 year roadmap.

Performance Budgeting: Collaborate on rigorous metrics for latency and accuracy across diverse edge-computing environments.

Lead cross functional teams: to create a viable plan to move to new platforms and unlock further technical capabilities for Perception systems. Coordinate projects across partner teams to make sure work is aligned with the overall org direction.

Qualifications

Education: Ph.D. or MS in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, or a related field with a focus on Computer Vision.

Experience: 8+ years in autonomous systems with at least 2 years in an architectural role, shipping and evolving perception systems

Deep Domain Expertise: Mastery of systems focused on Computer Vision, Deep learning, Foundational models, Sensor Fusion, and State Estimation (SLAM, EKF/UKF). Deep understanding of sensor modalities and their impact to perception/autonomy systems, including: Camera, lidar, radar.

Platform Proficiency: Deep understanding of hardware acceleration, component budgeting and transition to new platforms.

Mathematical Rigor: Strong foundation in 3D geometry, linear algebra, and probabilistic robotics.

Hands on Skills: Proficiency in C++ (production-grade) and Python (rapid prototyping). Ability to run experiments across system components and run metrics platforms.

Soft Skills: Curious, Data driven, with ability to translate complex technical trade-offs to non-technical stakeholders and executive leadership.