Software Engineer, Sensor Calibration

In this role, you will:

• Be responsible for designing and implementing Kodiak’s methods for sensor calibration in well-tested C++ code, deployment across the fleet, and evaluation of performance over time.
• Develop software for automatic calibration of camera, lidar, radar, and ultrasound sensors based on state-of-the art techniques.
• Define, implement, and optimize key sensor calibration metrics as they relate to perception performance. Minimize truck calibration error across the fleet.
• Define out-of-tolerance specifications based on driving requirements and develop methods to identify out-of-tolerance calibration at vehicle commissioning, start-up, and in real-time during driverless missions.
• Implement continuous automatic correction techniques and methods to recognize and report unrecoverable errors.
• Build tools for reporting calibration errors and results and track these over time.
• Operationalize calibration software by working with the integration team to deploy into the build and commissioning process. Continuously improve the calibration process to minimize cost, vehicle downtime, and calibration time.
• Collaborate closely with other experts on the team in sensors, perception, prediction, planning, and systems engineering teams.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Strong technical background. BS, MS or PhD with academic or industry experience in calibration or optimization. Skilled in C++. Strong problem-solving skills.
• Strong software engineering skills. You write well-designed, maintainable code.
• Solid theoretical foundation. Solid foundation in the mathematics of optimization, projective geometry, space transformations, probability, and statistics. Familiar with modern calibration techniques. Comfortable reviewing the literature and implementing methods from papers and texts. Strong data modeling skills.
• Sensor expertise. Experience working with sensor data (camera, lidar, radar, ultrasound). Deep expertise in one or many of the sensor modalities is a plus. Familiar with sensor intrinsic and extrinsic models for each modality, underlying factors motivating model selection, and sources of error.
• Analysis skills. Ability to define experiments, collect and analyze data, and draw conclusions in order to root cause problems observed in the field. Excel at turning root causes into design and implementations to resolve them permanently.
• A team player. You take ownership and work with the team to deliver exceptional results. You are interested in the performance of the entire system across engineering disciplines, eager to teach colleagues, and enjoy learning from others.
• Ability to build and iterate quickly. You enjoy working fast and smart, and you are comfortable in defining and building lasting components from scratch.
• Hands on. You are experienced working with production systems, hardware devices, and calibration software depended upon for mission success.
• Great communicator. You have experience writing clear, concise, and detailed documentation.

What we can offer:

• Competitive compensation package including equity and biannual bonuses
• Excellent Medical, Dental, and Vision plans through Kaiser Permanente, Anthem, and Guardian (including a medical plan with infertility benefits)
• Flexible PTO and generous parental leave policies
• Office perks: dog-friendly, free catered lunch, a fully stocked kitchen, and free EV charging
• Long Term Disability, Short Term Disability, Life Insurance
• Wellbeing Benefits - Headspace, One Medical, Gympass, Spring Health
• Fidelity 401(k)
• Commuter, FSA, Dependent Care FSA, HSA
• Various incentive programs (referral bonuses, patent bonuses, etc.)