Perception Engineer III

Remotefull timeRemote

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senior

$155k–$185k

H1B: no

Zone5 Technologies Senior Robotics Perception Engineer leads perception architecture and development for seeker, target state estimation, and world modeling capabilities. This role develops pipelines from sensor data to actionable world state for autonomy and mission software.

Responsibilities

Target State Estimation & Seeker Systems
Design and develop target detection, tracking, and state estimation pipelines that produce robust track kinematics under challenging observation conditions
Implement track initiation, maintenance, association, and termination logic with well-characterized uncertainty
Develop and tune nonlinear state estimators (EKF, UKF, particle filters) for target motion modeling
Characterize seeker performance across engagement geometries, environmental conditions, and target signatures
Define confidence and covariance outputs that downstream autonomy can reason about
World State Modeling & Multi-Source Fusion
Architect the world state representation that fuses self-state, target tracks, terrain, threats, and mission context into a coherent model
Integrate outputs from VIO/SLAM, sensor fusion, and target tracking into a unified perception picture
Manage temporal alignment, coordinate frames, and data association across heterogeneous sensor streams
Define perception-to-autonomy interfaces with clear semantics for state, uncertainty, and freshness
Autonomy Integration & System Architecture

Qualification

Bachelor's in RoboticsStrong foundation in linear algebraExperience with seeker systemsHands-on work with WOSA

Required

Bachelor's in Robotics, Aerospace Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Applied Mathematics, or related field (Master's preferred) – equivalent industry experience also welcome
6-9+ years of experience in robotics perception, state estimation, or sensor fusion
Strong proficiency in modern C++ for real-time embedded systems, with an emphasis on determinism, memory discipline, and performance
Hands-on experience with ROS2 and DDS-based middleware in production or program-delivered systems
Demonstrable experience developing and tuning nonlinear state estimators (EKF, UKF, or particle filters) for real applications
Working knowledge of at least one relevant area: target tracking, SLAM, VIO, or multi-sensor fusion – with the ability and interest to grow into the others
Experience deploying perception software on embedded compute platforms
Strong foundation in linear algebra, probability, coordinate frames, and estimation theory
Track record of owning a technical subsystem within a program or product from architecture through delivery
Ability to communicate technical trade-offs to both engineering and program stakeholders

Preferred

Experience with seeker systems, target tracking, or guidance-adjacent perception in a defense context
Hands-on work with WOSA, MOSA, or other open architecture standards
Deep DDS experience including QoS design, discovery, and performance tuning
NVIDIA Jetson deployment experience including profiling, memory management, and platform-specific optimization
Experience with SLAM/VIO frameworks (OpenVINS, VINS-Fusion, ORB-SLAM, GTSAM, Ceres)
Familiarity with PX4 or ArduPilot autopilot integration and MAVLink
Understanding of multi-hypothesis tracking, JPDA, or MHT approaches
Background integrating classical perception with learned components (detection, segmentation, feature learning)