Principal Software Engineer, Perception — Careers | ReidAtlantic
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Principal Software Engineer
Perception

Department
Perception & Autonomy
Location
Alameda, CA
Salary
$300K–$380K
Work policy
Hybrid, 3 days/week
Position
Principal Software Engineer, Perception
Employment
Full-time · Hybrid
Experience
8+ years
01 — Overview

About the Role

Our client is looking for a Principal Software Engineer, Perception with 8+ years of experience deploying perception systems on autonomous vehicles, robots, aerospace, or defense platforms. You’ll define the architecture and technical direction for the entire perception stack at an autonomous maritime defense company whose wind-powered ocean vehicles deliver persistent, wide-area intelligence in the world’s harshest environments. The role calls for deep expertise in sensor fusion, probabilistic estimation, and uncertainty modeling, and a proven track record of translating research-grade algorithms into reliable production systems running on constrained edge compute.

02 — Responsibilities

What will you be doing?

  • Define the architecture and technical direction for the company’s entire perception stack, including sensor fusion, localization, tracking, mapping, and uncertainty estimation
  • Take ownership of the hardest perception problems — integrating heterogeneous sensors (radar, cameras, novel maritime-specific modalities) into a coherent, reliable information stream for downstream autonomy
  • Work closely with the autonomy, navigation, and applied ML teams to ensure perception outputs drive safe and effective vehicle behavior in complex ocean environments
  • Translate state-of-the-art research and algorithms into robust production capabilities within real-world constraints on sensors, compute (Nvidia Jetson SOC), latency, and harsh environmental conditions
  • Lead technical direction for senior and staff engineers through architecture decisions, technical reviews, and hands-on problem solving — upleveling and upskilling the current perception team
  • Guide data labeling strategies, ground truth dataset construction, and evaluation frameworks to continuously improve perception system performance
  • Help expand the perception team over time, serving as a voice of technical leadership and authority in hiring and mentorship
03 — The Details

Role Details

Salary$300K - $380K base salary + competitive equity grants
Hybrid work policy3 days per week in the Alameda, CA office, 2 days remote. No relocation support available.
EmploymentFull-time position
LocationAlameda, CA, San Francisco, CA
EquityCompetitive equity grants
Visa sponsorshipNot open to any visas (e.g. US citizen, Green Card holders)
Tech stack
C++ Python Sensor Fusion Computer Vision Machine Learning Probabilistic Estimation State Estimation Localization Tracking Mapping SLAM Uncertainty Modeling Nvidia Jetson Edge Computing Radar Camera Systems Neural Networks Simulation
Why this role

Highlights

01

Series D+ company backed by investors including Lockheed Martin, Lux Capital, and Tribe Capital, with $299.5M in total funding raised.

02

Builds autonomous, wind-powered ocean vehicles, with almost all manufacturing, systems integration, and sensor work done in-house in Alameda, CA.

03

Customers include the US Coast Guard and Navy, with international work underway in Denmark and beyond. Demand is rising quickly in the US and abroad.

04

The Alameda office sits on the waterfront, right on the lagoon where the vehicles are deployed.
What we need

Key Requirements

  • 8+ years of experience as a perception engineer or robotics engineer, in a Staff role or operating at the Staff level
  • Experience deploying perception systems on autonomous vehicles, robots, aerospace, or defense platforms
  • Deep expertise in sensor fusion, probabilistic estimation, and uncertainty modeling
  • Proven track record of translating research-grade algorithms into reliable production systems running on constrained edge compute
  • Bonus: maritime or ocean-based autonomy, multiple sensor modalities (radar, camera, infrared), or leading perception architecture across multiple generations of an autonomous platform
  • US citizen or Green Card holder; hybrid, 3 days per week in Alameda, CA