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Robotics Perception Engineer Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

They are seeking a Perception Engineer to drive the architecture for image processing and object ... Required : โ€ข Bachelor's degree in computer science, robotics, or a similar discipline โ€ข ...

Senior Perception Engineer

Mountain View, CA ยท On-site

$181K - $245K/yr

Aeva's mission is to bring the next wave of perception to a broad range of applications from ... Have a MS or PhD in a relevant program such as Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering ...

Senior Perception Engineer

Mountain View, CA ยท On-site

$181K - $245K/yr

Aeva's mission is to bring the next wave of perception to a broad range of applications from ... Have a MS or PhD in a relevant program such as Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering ...

Aeva's mission is to bring the next wave of perception to a broad range of applications from ... Have a MS or PhD in a relevant program such as Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering ...

Lead Perception Engineer

Palo Alto, CA ยท On-site

$120K - $158K/yr

Teleo, a Havoc company, is a robotics company that transforms construction heavy equipment ... Build perception algorithms and architecture, fusing multiple sensor modalities and supporting an ...

Lead Perception Engineer

Palo Alto, CA ยท On-site

$120K - $158K/yr

Teleo, a Havoc company, is a robotics company that transforms construction heavy equipment ... Build perception algorithms and architecture, fusing multiple sensor modalities and supporting an ...

Perception Engineer

Huntington Beach, CA ยท On-site

$125K - $220K/yr

As a Perception Engineer, you will design, train, and deploy state-of-the-art vision and multi ... Robotics or similar, or equivalent experience; track record shipping ML models to production.

Showing results 21-40

Robotics Perception Engineer information

What is a robotics perception engineer?

Robotics Perception Engineers are professionals who specialize in enabling robots to interpret and understand their environment using sensors and data processing algorithms. They work on developing and implementing computer vision, sensor fusion, and machine learning techniques so that robots can perceive objects, people, and surroundings. Their work is crucial for applications such as autonomous vehicles, drones, industrial automation, and service robots. By improving a robot's ability to 'see' and make sense of the world, they help create safer and more effective robotic systems.

What is the difference between Robotics Perception Engineer vs Computer Vision Engineer?

AspectRobotics Perception EngineerComputer Vision Engineer
Required CredentialsBachelor's or Master's in Robotics, Computer Science, or Electrical Engineering; experience with perception algorithmsBachelor's or Master's in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related fields; strong programming skills in vision processing
Work EnvironmentRobotics labs, autonomous vehicle companies, industrial automationSoftware companies, tech startups, research labs focusing on image and video analysis
Industry UsageAutonomous vehicles, robotics, manufacturingHealthcare, security, consumer electronics, automotive

Robotics Perception Engineers focus on developing perception systems specifically for robots, integrating sensors and perception algorithms for navigation and interaction. Computer Vision Engineers primarily develop algorithms for interpreting visual data across various applications. While both roles require strong programming and understanding of perception, Robotics Perception Engineers specialize in sensor fusion and real-time processing within robotic systems, whereas Computer Vision Engineers work more broadly on image analysis and recognition tasks.

What are some common challenges faced by robotics perception engineers when integrating new sensors into autonomous systems?

Robotics Perception Engineers often encounter challenges such as sensor calibration, data synchronization, and managing varying data quality when integrating new sensors. Ensuring that sensor data is accurately aligned in time and space is crucial for reliable perception in autonomous systems. Additionally, engineers must address the complexities of fusing data from multiple modalities (like cameras, LiDAR, or radar) while optimizing processing efficiency. Close collaboration with hardware and software teams is essential to troubleshoot integration issues and achieve robust, real-time perception.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a robotics perception engineer?

To thrive as a Robotics Perception Engineer, you need strong expertise in computer vision, sensor fusion, machine learning, and proficiency in programming languages like C++ and Python, often supported by a degree in robotics, computer science, or a related field. Familiarity with tools and frameworks such as ROS (Robot Operating System), OpenCV, and deep learning libraries, as well as experience with sensors like LiDAR and cameras, is typically required. Excellent problem-solving abilities, teamwork, and adaptability help set standout professionals apart in this role. These competencies are crucial for enabling robots to accurately interpret and interact with their environment, leading to robust and reliable autonomous systems.
What cities in California are hiring for Robotics Perception Engineer jobs? Cities in California with the most Robotics Perception Engineer job openings:
Infographic showing various Robotics Perception Engineer job openings in California as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 88% Full Time, 5% Part Time, 2% Temporary, and 5% Contract. Highlights an 86% Physical, 5% Hybrid, and 9% Remote job distribution.

Staff Perception Engineer - Robotics

Knightscope

Sunnyvale, CA โ€ข On-site

$240K - $275K/yr

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Retirement, PTO

Re-posted yesterday


Job description

About Knightscope

Knightscope (NASDAQ: KSCP) is a security technology company building the nation's first Autonomous Security Force — autonomous machines, AI-driven software, and elite security professionals operating as one integrated managed service. The Company is on a mission to make the United States of America the safest country in the world. One Team. One Force.

About the Role

In this role, you will own the full perception stack for our autonomous security robot platform, from raw LiDAR, camera, and thermal sensor data through 3D object detection, scene understanding, and persistent entity tracking. You will be a technical lead working across robotics, ML, and systems engineering to ship production-grade perception capabilities that power real-time threat detection, incident correlation, and evidence capture in the field.  

Location Requirement: Full-time, on-site at Sunnyvale HQ (No relocation provided)


Key Responsibilities

  • Design, train, and deploy 3D perception models, object detection, segmentation, and multi-object tracking, from multi-modal sensor data (LiDAR, camera, thermal, radar) using state-of-the-art BEV and transformer-based architectures.
  • Own the end-to-end ML pipeline from large-scale data curation and annotation strategy through model training, optimization (TensorRT/CUDA), and real-time onboard deployment on edge compute.
  • Build persistent cross-sensor identity: the same person, vehicle, or license plate maintains a stable track across camera handoffs, patrol legs, and time, feeding entity correlation and incident generation downstream.
  • Design and implement evidence-first capture: pre/post-event clips, full-frame and crop media, and structured detection output that is replay-safe and analyst-ready.
  • Explore and integrate Vision-Language Models (VLMs) to enrich detection outputs with scene narration, anomaly reasoning, and long-tail incident understanding, moving K7 beyond bounding boxes toward analyst-ready scene descriptions.
  • Drive technical decisions on architecture, data strategy, and roadmap; mentor engineers across the team.
  • Design and run rigorous offline and closed-loop evaluations; define metrics for safety-critical perception performance across diverse real-world deployment environments.

Required Qualifications

  • 7+ years of hands-on experience at an OEM, AV company, physical security platform, or robotics tech company shipping perception software to production.
  • Deep expertise in 3D computer vision: LiDAR/camera 3D object detection, point cloud processing, multi-view geometry, and sensor fusion.
  • Strong ML fundamentals, CNNs, Transformers, multi-task architectures, with production deployment experience (TensorRT, ONNX, CUDA optimization).
  • Fluency in C++ (real-time systems) and Python; experience with ROS2 and simulation environments (CARLA, Isaac).
  • Production-first mindset demonstrated ability to take models from research to deployed, real-world systems operating under real operational constraints.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Exposure to vision-language models (VLMs): fine-tuning, prompting, or integrating VLM outputs into a perception pipeline for scene understanding or anomaly narration.
  • Familiarity with Vision-Language-Action (VLA) or end-to-end policy models that map sensor observations directly to robot actions, and interest in applying these to active confirmation and repositioning behaviors.
  • Experience with ALPR, face recognition, or ReID systems in deployed security or automotive contexts.
  • Familiarity with evidence integrity, chain-of-custody media, or tamper-evident capture pipelines.
  • Publications or open-source contributions in 3D CV, embodied AI, or autonomous systems.
  • MS or PhD in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, or related field.

Compensation & Benefits

  • Base Salary: $240,000 to $275,000 (DOE)
  • Equity: Stock options
  • Benefits: Medical, dental, vision, 401(k), paid time off
  • Location Requirement: Full-time, on-site at Sunnyvale HQ