Senior Perception Engineer Robotics

Senior Perception Engineer - Robotics

Work location: Union City CA Hybrid

Third Wave Automation (TWA) is a rapidly growing startup that has demonstrated its core technology components proven its market fit and just closed its Series C funding. If you are excited about cutting edge machine learning robotics that affects the real world and want to join a company where your skills can have a huge impact youll fit right in. TWA is applying modern machine learning to materials handlingdelivering site-specific forklift navigation and infrastructure-free pallet handling that continuously adapts to changing floor configuration and warehouse demand.

We are looking for senior and principal level Robotics Engineers with strong Perception Engineering expertise to help advance the automation stack for our autonomous forklifts. As TWA expands with successful customer deployments we are adding engineers who can improve the reliability accuracy and robustness of our perception systems in real-world warehouse environments.

This role will focus heavily on sensor processing perception pipelines object detection and tracking environmental understanding localization support and perception-to-planning integration. The ideal candidate has hands-on experience building perception capabilities for deployed robotic systems and is comfortable working across adjacent areas such as prediction motion planning vehicle behavior and system-level debugging.

You will be part of a core team working to pioneer new solutions while also driving product maturity to support our rapid growth projections. We empower our team with an AI-first engineering culture leveraging LLMs and generative tools to accelerate problem-solving automate the mundane and allow engineers to focus on the high-level architectural safety and reliability challenges unique to autonomous robotics.

How You Can Make An Impact

• Own and improve core perception capabilities: Design implement and optimize perception algorithms that enable autonomous forklifts to reliably understand and operate in dynamic warehouse environments.
• Develop robust sensor processing pipelines: Work with data from LiDAR vision and other onboard sensors to improve detection classification tracking segmentation and environmental modeling.
• Improve perception performance in real-world conditions: Address noise occlusion sensor uncertainty edge cases dynamic obstacles reflective surfaces lighting variation and other challenges common in warehouse and industrial environments.
• Integrate perception with planning and autonomy systems: Ensure perception outputs are accurate timely and usable by downstream planning prediction localization vehicle command and safety systems.
• Drive product maturity through deployed robotics: Translate field data customer deployment learnings and system failures into measurable improvements in perception reliability autonomy performance and customer outcomes.
• Build in an AI-first engineering environment: Leverage AI-assisted development tools such as Cursor Gemini GitHub Copilot and LLM-based workflows to accelerate prototyping testing debugging documentation and code generation.
• Debug complex autonomy issues end-to-end: Investigate perception-driven autonomy failures reproduce field issues analyze logs and sensor data and collaborate across robotics disciplines to identify root causes.
• Influence technical direction: Help shape the roadmap for perception and autonomy improvements as a key member of a small empowered engineering team.
• Mentor and raise the technical bar: Provide technical leadership contribute original ideas mentor junior engineers and help establish best practices for perception development testing and deployment.

Basic Qualifications

• At least 7 years of industry experience with a Bachelors Degree in Robotics Computer Science Electrical Engineering Mechanical Engineering or a related quantitative discipline.
• At least 5 years of hands-on robotics or autonomy experience; final leveling and compensation will be determined by depth of technical expertise demonstrated ownership and interview results.
• Deep experience developing robot perception systems for real-world robotics autonomous vehicles warehouse automation mobile robots or similar deployed systems.
• Strong foundation in sensor processing especially LiDAR and/or vision-based perception.
• Experience with one or more of the following: object detection object tracking segmentation classification sensor fusion occupancy grids scene understanding obstacle detection localization support or mapping.
• Ability to reason about uncertainty noisy sensor data occlusion latency calibration and other real-world perception challenges.
• Strong software development skills with the ability to write efficient clean reusable production-quality code in C and Python; command of OOP/OOD.
• Fluency in developing debugging and deploying robotics software inLinux-based environments.
• Experience integrating perception outputs into downstream autonomy systems such as motion planning prediction behavior planning control or safety systems.
• Track record of bringing important robotics or perception features from ideation through implementation testing deployment and iteration.
• Fluency with AI-assisted development tools such as Cursor Copilot Gemini or LLM-based workflows to augment development testing debugging and deployment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to explain complex perception concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree Masters or Ph.D. in Robotics Computer Science Computer Vision Machine Learning Electrical Engineering or a related quantitative field.
• Deep experience with LiDAR perception computer vision sensor fusion or perception systems for autonomous mobile robots.
• Experience developing perception systems that operate in production safety-critical or mission-critical environments.
• Experience with warehouse automation autonomous forklifts autonomous vehicles AMRs AGVs industrial robotics or other deployed robotic platforms.
• Familiarity with SLAM localization mapping calibration and their relationship to perception system performance.
• Experience analyzing large volumes of robot logs field data or sensor data to improve system performance.
• Experience with simulation data replay scenario testing automated evaluation or perception performance metrics.
• A proven history of providing technical leadership and mentoring junior engineers.
• Experience supporting shipping products and working through field deployment issues.
• Experience with safety systems or certification requirements such as ISO 3691 ISO 13849 CE Marking or related standards.

TWA offers a robust set of benefits and perks:

• Comprehensive benefits. Health Dental Vision and a 401k matching program to boot!
• Flexible working schedule. Be productive when you work best.
• Show & Tell. We love to learn from one another and see the cool stuff everyone is working on!
• Lunch is provided every day!
• Stacks of snacks. Donuts are a main food group and the snack shelf is always stocked with a wide variety of items.
• Great teammates. One of the best parts of working here!

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

All qualified applicants able to work in the United States are encouraged to apply. We are unable to sponsor H-1 visas subject to fees required by the Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers Presidential Proclamation dated September 21 2025.

This job is based in Union City at least three days a week and offers no relocation assistance. The pay range for this position is $160000 - $250000/yr benefitsequity; however base pay offered will vary depending on job-related knowledge skills and experience.