Perception Engineer – Computer Vision & AI/ML

About KnightscopeKnightscope is a security technology company building the Nation’s First Autonomous Security Force. The Company combines autonomous machines, advanced software, and human expertise to help protect people, property, and critical infrastructure. Knightscope’s long-term mission is to make the United States of America the safest country in the world.Location: Knightscope HQ, Sunnyvale, CA (This position is not remote)Job SummaryKnightscope is seeking a Perception Engineer with strong expertise in computer vision and AI/ML to design, develop, and deploy camera-based perception systems for autonomous security robots.In this role, you will contribute to the development of Knightscope’s vision perception stack, enabling robots to understand and interpret complex real-world environments. Your work will directly impact the safety, reliability, and operational effectiveness of deployed robotic platforms.You will collaborate closely with controls, simulation, and test engineering teams to deliver perception capabilities that support safe and intelligent robot behavior in real-world deployments.About The RoleYou will work on end-to-end perception system development, including algorithm design, model development, system integration, and deployment on embedded robotic platforms.This role requires a balance of deep AI/ML expertise and strong systems understanding, including working with camera hardware, embedded compute (SoCs), and real-time constraints. You will contribute to building robust, scalable, and production-ready perception pipelines that operate reliably in diverse and dynamic environments.Key ResponsibilitiesDesign, develop, and optimize camera-based perception systems for real-time robotics applicationsDevelop and deploy visual perception and environment understanding algorithms using modern AI/ML techniquesImplement and improve capabilities for detection, recognition, tracking, and contextual understanding in real-world environmentsWork with large-scale datasets to train, evaluate, and deploy machine learning models for perception tasksUnderstand and account for camera hardware characteristics, sensor limitations, and ISP pipelines in algorithm designEvaluate trade-offs between accuracy, latency, compute, and power consumption in deployed systemsLeverage fleet-scale data to evaluate perception performance, identify edge cases, and improve algorithms for robustness, accuracy, and real-world reliabilityDefine and maintain metrics and evaluation frameworks to continuously measure and improve perception system performanceCollaborate cross-functionally with controls, simulation, and test teams to ensure seamless integration into the autonomy stackSupport on-robot integration, debugging, and validation in real-world environmentsRequired QualificationsS. or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Machine Learning, Computer Vision, or related field. B.S. with strong industry experience may be consideredPrior internship or full-time industry experience in computer vision, AI/ML, robotics, autonomous systems, or related domainsStrong background in computer vision and deep learning for image-based perceptionExperience developing visual perception systems for real-world applicationsExperience with modern ML frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow)Strong programming skills in Python and/or C++Experience developing software in large, distributed development environmentsExperience with version control systems (e.g., Git) and collaborative software development workflows (code reviews, branching, merging)Understanding of camera systems, image processing, and sensor characteristicsAbility to work in a hands-on robotics development and testing environmentPreferred QualificationsExperience with real-time perception systems and low-latency inferenceExperience deploying models on embedded/edge platforms (e.g., NVIDIA, Qualcomm SoCs)Understanding of camera SoC hardware, ISP pipelines, and system-level trade-offsFamiliarity with multi-camera systems or sensor fusionExperience with visual-language models (VLMs) or multimodal AI systemsExperience with video analytics or large-scale perception systemsFamiliarity with ROS / ROS2Experience working with large-scale datasets and data pipelinesBackground in safety-critical or production AI systemsCompensation & BenefitsBase Salary: $150,000 to $210,000 (DOE)Equity: Stock optionsBenefits: Medical, dental, vision, 401(k), paid time offLocation Requirement: Full-time, on-site at Sunnyvale HQ