Senior Data Platform Engineer

Senior Software Engineer, Data PlatformLocation: United States (remote) or onsite in Los Angeles, CA.Employment Type: Full-timeCompensation: $200K–$240K base salary + equityFocus: Data Platform, ML Infrastructure, Sensor Data, Maritime Autonomy, Defense TechnologyAbout Our ClientOur client is building advanced sonar and sensing systems designed to bring real-time intelligence to the maritime domain.Their technology sits at the intersection of autonomy, sensing, perception, and defense. The team is building full-stack systems across physics, hardware interfaces, data, machine learning, perception, and product.The company is backed by a mission-driven team with experience from some of the most respected technology, aerospace, defense, and AI organizations in the world. They believe the maritime domain will shape the next century of economics, geopolitics, and global security — and they are building the technology to help define that future.About the RoleOur client is hiring a Senior Software Engineer, Data Platform to help build the real-time ML data platform behind autonomous and semi-autonomous marine systems.This is a high-impact role for an engineer who is passionate about autonomy, maritime sensing, defense technology, and large-scale data infrastructure. You’ll help define how raw maritime signals become clean, consistent, labeled datasets that power perception models, foundation models, evaluation systems, and AI-driven analytics.The core challenge is building a platform that can ingest, process, store, reprocess, and analyze data from thousands of marine systems across a wide range of sensors, hardware interfaces, and data sources — all with a high bar for security, reliability, reproducibility, and performance.What You’ll DoBuild and operate a real-time ML data platform for autonomous and semi-autonomous marine systemsDefine how raw maritime signals become clean, consistent, labeled datasets for perception and foundation modelsBuild post-processing pipelines that align, resample, and calibrate multi-sensor dataCreate robust backfill and reprocessing frameworks for historical dataApply new filters, synchronizations, label corrections, and metadata enrichments across large datasetsEstablish lineage, versioning, and reproducibility standards for ML experimentsBuild dataset discovery and access APIs/SDKs for downstream usersEnable teams to query datasets by time, region, modality, labels, and quality flagsInstrument data quality metrics across completeness, corruption, drift, label density, class balance, and regional coverageBuild dashboards, alerts, and canary dataset builds to improve data reliabilityOptimize storage layouts for fast reads, parallelization, compression, chunking, sharding, locality, and prefetchingPartner closely with ML, perception, hardware, and product teams to map data contracts to model needsWhat We’re Looking ForStrong experience building data platforms, ML infrastructure, or large-scale data processing systemsExperience owning dataset quality, reproducibility, lineage, and evaluation fidelityStrong Python experience and comfort with modern data toolingExperience with tools such as PyArrow, Polars, Pandas, NumPy, SciPy, or similar librariesExperience working with audio, vision, telemetry, sensor, or time-series dataStrong understanding of data pipelines, dataset versioning, metadata, and quality monitoringExperience building APIs, SDKs, or access layers for data discovery and consumptionAbility to design systems that support both real-time and historical reprocessing workflowsComfort working closely with ML, perception, hardware, and product teamsStrong ownership, technical judgment, and ability to operate in a fast-moving startup environmentBonus ExperienceExperience owning “dataset-as-a-product” systems used across multiple model familiesExperience building curated corpora with strong lineage, documentation, and reproducibilityExperience designing dataset splitting or sampling strategies by time, platform, geography, class, signal quality, or similar dimensionsExperience preventing data leakage and improving model generalization through thoughtful dataset designHands-on experience with labeling workflows, ontologies, consensus systems, QA, or label-store integrationsExperience with Go, Rust, or TypeScript for servicesExperience with orchestration tools such as Airflow or PrefectExperience with metadata and lineage tools such as MLflow or Weights & BiasesExposure to edge or sensor data, including audio, sonar, video, telemetry, time synchronization, or geospatial contextExperience in defense, maritime, autonomy, robotics, aerospace, or national security technologyWhy This OpportunityJoin a mission-driven company building technology for the maritime domainWork on hard data infrastructure problems across autonomy, sensing, perception, and MLBuild the platform that turns raw sensor data into reliable model-ready datasetsPartner closely with a high-caliber team across software, hardware, ML, and productHelp shape foundational systems as an early member of the teamWork on technology with real implications for global security, maritime operations, and autonomous systemsStep into a role with significant ownership, technical depth, and long-term impactBenefitsCompetitive salaryLong-term equity incentive program with significant growth potentialFlexible PTO and paid holidaysComprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance401(k)Lunch and snacks provided in officeUnique work environment blending technology, maritime systems, and defense