Staff Autonomy Engineer

Position Overview:

As a senior member of the R&D team, the Staff Autonomy Engineer demonstrates a high degree of technical excellence, playing a critical role in developing next-generation AI technology for robots. This role involves leading large-scale projects, driving cross-functional teams, and spearheading initiatives that enable machines to perceive, learn, and navigate complex environments while avoiding obstacles and ensuring safety. The Staff Autonomy Engineer will provide mentorship and coaching to more junior team members, and significantly contribute to team hiring and onboarding processes. Advanced knowledge in machine learning, perception, SLAM, and motion planning is essential.

Leadership and Strategy

• Lead and drive large-scale projects from conception to deployment, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and delivering measurable impact
• Strategize and lead cross-functional teams to achieve common objectives, fostering collaboration, accountability and technical excellence• Serve as a critical and trusted resource for technical and strategic guidance, mentoring team members and driving a culture of excellent and continuous improvement

Technical Excellence

• Develop and  implement advanced solutions in machine learning algorithms, SLAM, motion planning, and robotic perception to enable safe and efficient navigation in complex environments
• Stay at the forefront of innovation by surveying the latest advancements in machine learning, SLAM, and motion planning, proposing and leading initiatives that push the boundaries of autonomous robotics 
• Design and optimize adaptive algorithms that enable robotic systems to learn from human demonstration, ensuring real-world robustness, adaptability and generalization across diverse scenarios
• ​​Architect & implement multimodal autonomy stacks that fuse perception, language, and action to achieve robust navigation and manipulation
• Develop and apply machine learning techniques (supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement learning) for analyzing and improving robotic fleet performance, leveraging real-world operational data 
• Innovate and enhance algorithms for robotic perception, mapping, and motion planning across  various hardware platforms, ensuring solutions are efficient, scalable and optimized for deployment in dynamic environments 

Mentorship and Development

• Provide extensive mentorship and coaching to team members, fostering a culture of continuous learning and development
• Lead initiatives to develop software frameworks and tools that streamline robotics research and development
• Play a pivotal role in team hiring and onboarding, ensuring the acquisition and retention of top talent

Education and/or Work Experience Requirements:

• Master’s or Ph.D. degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field
• Extensive experience with SLAM, Perception, or Motion Planning algorithms
• A minimum of 6 years of industry experience in an embodied AI field (e.g., robotics, self-driving)
• Strong experience in machine learning techniques (unsupervised, supervised, reinforcement, demonstration) and optimization algorithms
• Proficiency in Python and C++ in a Linux environment
• Proven experience converting research publications into real-world implementations

Required Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Other Characteristics:

• Deep expertise in deep neural network packages (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch)
• Extensive experience in designing and developing robotic systems using robotic middleware (such as ROS) and existing libraries and tools
• A strong track record of research excellence and practical implementation of research findings
• Experience with continuous integration, deployment, and release management tools.
• Proficiency in Agile and Scrum methodologies
• Demonstrated system integration and software architecture skills
• Proven experience in launching products that incorporate machine learning algorithms
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal 

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Essential functions may require maintaining the physical condition necessary for sitting, walking or standing for periods of time; operating a computer and keyboard; talk and hear at normal room levels; using hands to finger, grasp, and feel; repetitive motion; close visual acuity to prepare and analyze data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; extensive reading; lift, push, carry, or pull up to 20 pounds. 

Work Environment:

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet to moderate. Employees are exposed to the typical office environment with computers, printers and telephones.

Salary Range:

The anticipated salary range for candidates who will work in San Diego, California is $170,000 to $205,000. The final salary offered to a successful candidate will be dependent on several factors that may include but are not limited to the type and length of experience within the job, type and length of experience within the industry, education, etc. Brain Corp is a multi-state employer and this salary range may not reflect positions that work in other states.

In addition to base pay, our competitive total rewards package consists of:

• A discretionary annual target bonus
• Stock options
• 401(k) plan with match (no waiting period and immediate vesting)
• Comprehensive suite of insurance benefits for employees (and their families) to include a variety of medical plan options (including an HSA with employer contribution), dental, vision, life and disability insurance, Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Legal/Identity support plans, pet insurance.
• Access to Flexible Spending Accounts (Medical and Dependent Care)
• Generous paid time off including flexible vacation, Paid Sick Leave, time off for volunteering in the community, 10 paid company holidays, and a winter company shutdown

Additional Perks include:

• Daily on-site lunch available in the San Diego office
• On-campus gym including pool and tennis courts in the San Diego office
• Opportunities to connect with colleagues including monthly game nights, hikes, wellness challenges, and community events 
• Internal continuous learning events 
• Opportunities to share your own interests and hobbies with the Compa