Autonomous surface vessels collecting ocean intelligence at scale for defense and science missions.

Perception Engineer

San FranciscoHybrid$144K - $300K4 - 8 yearsReferral bonus eligible
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We’re building the perception backbone for a fleet of uncrewed surface vehicles that operate across the world’s harshest maritime environments—from Arctic ice edges to contested naval corridors. These vessels navigate heavy traffic, avoid obstacles in rough seas, and make sense of their surroundings entirely on their own. As a Perception Engineer, you’ll own the sensor processing pipelines that turn raw camera, radar, and AIS feeds into reliable situational awareness. Your work will directly shape how our autonomous systems see, classify, and react to the world around them—reducing reliance on remote operators and increasing mission endurance. This is a hands-on, hybrid role based in San Francisco, where you’ll collaborate closely with hardware, navigation, and machine learning teams to ship robust, safety-critical software into production.

What they're looking for

  • 4–8 years of professional experience developing perception or sensor fusion systems for autonomous vehicles, robotics, or aerospace platforms
  • Strong proficiency in C/C++ and Python, with a track record of shipping production-quality code
  • Deep familiarity with at least two sensor modalities relevant to maritime or ground autonomy: visual cameras, marine radar, lidar, or AIS
  • Experience designing and implementing object detection, tracking, and classification algorithms in real-world, unstructured environments
  • Comfortable working in a hybrid setting from our San Francisco office and able to hold a U.S. security clearance

Tech stack

CC++Python

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This role is one we're recruiting for on behalf of a client company; the client's identity is kept confidential at this stage. A Fluency recruiter will follow up with details.

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