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Robotics Perception Engineer Jobs in Washington, DC

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Robotics Perception Engineer information

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$32.8K

$119.6K

$191.4K

How much do robotics perception engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 16, 2026, the average yearly pay for robotics perception engineer in Washington, DC is $119,608.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $94,600.00 and $143,800.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

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 are popular job titles related to Robotics Perception Engineer jobs in Washington, DC?

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What job categories do people searching Robotics Perception Engineer jobs in Washington, DC look for?

The top searched job categories for Robotics Perception Engineer jobs in Washington, DC are:

Robotics Perception Engineer jobs near you

Senior Staff Software Engineer, Perception (R4985)

Shield AI

Washington, DC • On-site

$233K - $350K/yr

Full-time

Posted 18 days ago

Job description

Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation and synthetic reality technologies. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide. For more information, visit www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube. 

The Hivemind Solutions Perception team develops the next generation of perception capabilities for autonomous systems by combining state-of-the-art machine learning with the proven foundations of computer vision. The team advances how autonomous platforms understand and interpret the world by developing vision, vision-language (VLM), and vision-language-action (VLA) models that tackle core perception challenges such as object understanding, scene interpretation, and mission-relevant environmental awareness. Working at the intersection of research and production, our engineers build the data pipelines, supervised fine-tuning (SFT) workflows, evaluation frameworks, and deployment infrastructure needed to transform cutting-edge AI research into reliable, mission-ready perception capabilities.
 
In this role, you'll develop and deploy advanced machine learning models that enable autonomous systems to better understand, reason about, and interact with their environment. You'll partner closely with machine learning researchers, autonomy engineers, perception engineers, and platform teams to translate emerging AI capabilities into reliable, production-ready systems for U.S. and international defense customers. This is an ideal opportunity for engineers who enjoy building state-of-the-art AI systems while solving the practical challenges of deploying them on operational autonomous platforms. 
What You'll Do:

Model Development – Design, train, fine-tune, and maintain state-of-the-art vision, vision-language, and vision-language-action models that improve perception and decision-making for autonomous systems. 

Data Pipelines & Model Training – Build scalable data pipelines, supervised fine-tuning (SFT) workflows, and evaluation loops that continuously improve model performance on mission-relevant tasks. 

Model Deployment & Optimization – Deploy and optimize machine learning models for embedded hardware using technologies such as ONNX, TensorRT, and hardware-accelerated inference frameworks. 

Perception & Autonomy Applications – Apply modern machine learning techniques to solve challenging perception and autonomy problems across aerial and other autonomous systems operating in complex, real-world environments. 

Research-to-Production – Translate cutting-edge machine learning research into production-ready capabilities by balancing model performance, robustness, computational efficiency, and operational reliability. 

Cross-functional Collaboration – Partner closely with perception, autonomy, platform, and software engineering teams to integrate machine learning capabilities into mission-ready autonomous systems. 

Model Evaluation & Validation – Develop benchmarks, testing methodologies, and evaluation frameworks to measure model performance, identify failure modes, and guide future improvements. 

Continuous Improvement – Improve training infrastructure, developer tooling, deployment workflows, and model lifecycle management to accelerate experimentation and production delivery. 

Required Qualifications:

  • Typically requires a minimum of 10 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; or 9 years and a Master’s degree; or 7 years with a PhD; or equivalent work experience.

  • Mastery of machine learning fundamentals. 

  • Experience training an deploying ML models for computer vision in a production setting. 

  • Strong understanding of 3D vision problems/algorithms. 

  • Experience with machine learning frameworks such as PyTorch and TensorFlow. 

  • Demonstrated expertise in deploying models using TensorRT and ONNX. 

  • Proficiency in C++ and Python. 

  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to translate research into practical applications. 

  • Ability to obtain a SECRET clearance 
Preferred Qualifications:

  • Experience with developing autonomous systems for defense customers. 

  • Experience with training/finetuning vision-language models, vision-language-action models, and/or world models.  

  • Contributions to open-source projects in machine learning or computer vision. 

  • Track record of publications in leading computer vision and robotics conferences and journals (e.g., CVPR, ICCV/ECCV, RAL, ICRA).

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Full-time regular employee offer package:
Pay within range listed + Bonus + Benefits + Equity
 
Temporary employee offer package:
Pay within range listed above + temporary benefits package (applicable after 60 days of employment)
 
Salary compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, licenses and certifications, and specific work location. All offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check. Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits. Please speak to your talent acquisition representative for more information.
 
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Shield AI is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know. 

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.