Staff Software Engineer, Perception

About Us At Saildrone, we sustainably explore, map, and monitor the oceans to understand, protect, and preserve our world. We provide real-time access to critical data from any ocean on earth, 24/7/365, and use proprietary software applications to transform that data into actionable insights and intelligence. Our fleet of uncrewed surface vehicles (USVs), powered by renewable wind and solar power, have a minimal carbon footprint and operate without the need for a crewed support vessel.

Saildrone works with governments, civil agencies, foundations, universities, and private companies around the globe to drive better information about our oceans and seas—from sailing into the eye of a category 4 hurricane to obtain new data about how storms intensify, collecting new CO2 data in hard-to-reach areas, and counting fish biomass to inform sustainable fishery management, to mapping the ocean floor and reducing illegal fishing and drug trafficking. As a result of our work, we have been included on TIME’s List of the 100 Most Influential Companies in 2024, Fast Company’s list of the “World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2022,” and earned the Ocean Awards’ Innovation Award, presented by the Blue Marine Foundation. Saildrone’s hurricane mission was included as one of The New York Times’ “Top 21 Things that happened (for the first time) in 2021” and Popular Science’s “100 Greatest Innovations of 2021,” and entered into the Guinness Book of World Records for recording the “highest windspeed recorded by a USV.”

We are based in Alameda, CA, with offices in Washington DC and St. Petersburg, FL, and operate our missions worldwide. Saildrone is backed by top-tier investors in the frontier tech and sustainability sectors, including Social Capital, Capricorn, Lux Capital, BOND Capital, and Emerson Collective.

This is an exciting opportunity with a fast-growing team at the cutting-edge intersection of big data services and autonomous hardware. You will be an integral part of a high-performing multi-disciplinary team that delivers high impact for humanity and future generations.

The Role

Saildrone uses an onboard perception system for ocean monitoring and navigational safety. Using a combination of machine vision, radar, acoustic and AIS data, our worldwide fleet of drones perceives the world in real-time to combat illegal fishing and safely sail through crowded seas. Ocean-going drones present a unique challenge for high-performance perception: our fleet is solar and wind powered, and can be deployed for up to one year without returning to port. These challenges make efficient algorithms a must and require thoughtful over-the-air deployment strategies. We’re looking for a top-notch Staff Perception Engineer to help drive projects within the Perception Team taking on these unique challenges.

As a Staff Perception Engineer at Saildrone, you will not only bring technical expertise but also serve as a key technical leader within the Perception Team. Being a technical leader means driving the team towards innovative solutions, fostering a collaborative environment, and setting a high standard for technical excellence. You will be responsible for guiding cross-functional project teams through complex challenges, making critical technical decisions, and ensuring that the team’s output meets Saildrone’s rigorous quality and performance standards. Your role will involve mentoring junior engineers, facilitating knowledge sharing, and leading by example in writing efficient, high-quality code. By embodying technical leadership, you will empower your teammates to excel, drive the team’s success, and contribute significantly to Saildrone’s mission of enhancing ocean monitoring and navigational safety through cutting-edge perception systems.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical initiatives within the Perception Team to improve performance and add new functionality for individual sensors and the algorithms that fuse that data together.
• Work cross-functionally with product managers, technical leads and system engineers to make critical decisions and ensure designs will meet overall system requirements
• Design, develop and evaluate perception and tracking algorithms to fuse data from cameras, radars, hydrophones and other sensors.
• Write efficient, well-tested C++ code to run on real-time operations systems.
• Work with cross-functional teams to ensure valid integration of sensor hardware into our perception systems.
• Work with machine learning engineers to ensure integration and end-to-end system performance is optimized on-board.
• Design, develop and maintain large-scale perception regression tests and replay scenarios to aid rapid software development and evaluate and track performance.
• Productionize and harden algorithms for real-world applications.
• Work with platform and UI engineers to ensure display of useful sensor information to users for near real time perception around the vessels as well as intelligent navigation.
• Lead initiatives and meetings within the team and functional area.
• Motivate and empower teammates to achieve a higher level of performance.
• Identify and propose strategies around technical problems affecting the team while communicating standards and getting buy-in on solutions.

Required Skills And Experience

• 8+ years professional experience in a relevant domain, with prior experience tech leading projects. An advanced degree can substitute for experience.
• 5+ years of professional experience writing production grade software
• BS or MS in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering or related field
• 5+ years experience with C++. This is our main coding language in these systems
• Understanding and familiarity with perception systems and algorithms
• Experience with robotics middleware such as ROS, ZMQ, gRPC
• Familiarity with machine learning algorithms
• Familiarity with GPU accelerated algorithm development
• Familiarity with signal processing algorithms
• A desire to solve challenging robotics problems
• Excellent communication and leadership skills
• Experience with mentorship

Desired Skills And Experience

• Hands-on experience with computer vision systems, online state estimation, sensor fusion and machine learning
• Experience with perception sensing technologies like radar, camera, acoustics, etc.
• Experience with tracking and filtering algorithms, such as Particle and Kalman filters
• Experience Python and SQL
• Experience with deployment to Nvidia chipsets for robotics, such as the AGX
• Experience working in robotics or autonomous vehicle industries

Physical Requirements

• Work is performed on a computer and requires ability to operate a keyboard and other peripheral devices.

Location: This position is hybrid in Alameda, CA (Onsite 3 days per week required). Our waterfront office offers beautiful views of San Francisco Bay in always sunny Alameda. Even our walls have good karma, our offices mix software development with a hardware production line in the former airplane hangar used to film ‘The Matrix’.

Benefits:

• Medical, dental and vision plans for you and your dependents.
• Short and relaxing ferry ride from the Ferry Building for SF residents
• Enhanced Parental Leave Programs
• Competitive benefits including excellent medical, life insurance, 401k plan

A reasonable estimate of the current range is $149,400-$198,000 annually.

Catch up on the latest news about us:

The Tiny Craft Mapping Superstorms at Sea – The New York Times

TIME 100 Most Influential Companies 2024: Saildrone

An Underwater Mountain was Newly Discovered off California Coast – San Francisco Chronicle

Hacking the Anthropocene with Survivalist Robots [VIDEO] – Freethink

An Unprecedented View Inside a Hurricane – EOS

Saildrone’s First Aluminum Surveyor Autonomous Vessel Splashes Down for Navy Testing – TechCrunch

USVs Could Deter IUU Fishing – USNI Proceedings

Saildrone Vehicles Track Whales around Offshore Wind Power – Workboat

Mullen, Former Joint Chiefs Chairman, to Lead Board for Unmanned Tech Firm Saildrone – Breaking Defense

The Navy Is Using Robot Ships to Deter Human Smuggling out of Haiti – Defense One

Saildrone’s Quiet Voyage: Autonomous Vehicle Aids Great Lakes Fish Stock Study – Up North Live

Saildrone Featured Videos Playlist

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

At Saildrone, we value diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive workplace that welcomes people from all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. We believe that a diverse and inclusive team leads to innovation and better problem-solving. We encourage applications from candidates of all genders, ethnicities, races, sexual orientations, disabilities, and backgrounds.

Individual compensation packages are based on geographic location, scope of the role, relevant experience, and the ability to deal with complexity and problem solve within our organization, among other factors.

All employees are required to provide proof of authorization to work in the U.S. within their first 3 days of work. Please note that the Company does not sponsor employees for work visas or permanent resident cards to work in the U.S. If you need sponsorship for a work visa or green card, you will not be qualified for employment with Saildrone.

Any unsolicited resumes/candidate profiles submitted through our website or to personal email accounts of employees of Saildrone are considered property of Saildrone and are not subject to payment of agency fees.