Robotics/Autonomy Engineer - Computer Vision

Job description

• Knightwerx is seeking a highly skilled Robotics/Autonomy Engineer – Computer Vision to lead development and integration of advanced perception, vision-based navigation, and autonomy software for a small, unmanned electric aircraft. We operate in a fast-paced development environment that balances innovation and ingenuity with practicality and reliability. You’ll collaborate with flight-software, aeromechanical, and avionics teams to deliver robust autonomy for GPS-denied, contested, and complex environments from prototype through production. The role emphasizes cutting-edge computer vision, sensor fusion, and real-time autonomy algorithms to enable resilient operations in austere conditions.

Work Experience

• Bachelor’s or higher degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Robotics, or a related discipline.
• 5 years of relevant industry experience in computer vision, robotics, or embedded systems.
• Proven experience developing image signal processing (ISP) and computer vision (CV) software.
• Hands-on experience with MIPI Camera Serial Interface (CSI) and writing drivers for image sensors.
• Experience integrating and operating camera systems in UAVs or other autonomous platforms.
• Knowledge of video codecs (H.264/H.265) and network protocols for video transmission (RTSP, MPEG-TS).

Attributes

• Effective collaborator in cross-functional team environments.
• Open to feedback and committed to continuous improvement.
• Innovative, hands-on, and practical in problem solving.
• Multi-disciplinary mindset with strong engineering analysis skills.
• Goal-driven, resilient, and accountable throughout the design process

Primary Duties

• Design, develop, and optimize computer vision and ISP software for real-time robotic and UAV applications.
• Implement and maintain camera drivers, video pipelines, and hardware-accelerated vision algorithms.
• Integrate vision systems with navigation, control, and autonomy stacks.
• Ensure software is scalable, maintainable, and efficient across embedded and distributed platforms.
• Collaborate with hardware, systems, and autonomy engineers to deliver end-to-end solutions.
• Participate in documentation of design, implementation, and test procedures.
• Troubleshoot and debug system-level issues in camera and vision pipelines.
• Stay current with emerging CV/ML methods, hardware accelerators, and best practices.

Tasks

• Develop and optimize computer vision algorithms for perception, navigation, and target detection in GPS-denied and contested environments
• Integrate vision systems with autonomy software, including sensor fusion, SLAM, and obstacle avoidance
• Select, configure, and test vision sensors and compute payloads to support autonomous behaviors
• Implement and validate real-time autonomy features using vision-based inputs and multi-sensor data
• Ensure perception and autonomy software is scalable, maintainable, and efficient for prototype through production
• Participate in rigorous field testing, data collection, and refinement of vision/autonomy performance
• Document software design, algorithms, and test procedures for technical teams and stakeholders

Skills

• Strong understanding of image formation, filtering, feature extraction, segmentation, optical flow, object detection, tracking, and recognition.
• Experience with camera calibration (intrinsic/extrinsic) and time synchronization of multi-sensor data.
• Proficiency with OpenCV, GStreamer, and V4L2.
• Practical experience with hardware acceleration (CUDA, SIMD, Vulkan, etc.).
• Familiarity with Nvidia Jetson platforms, FPGAs, and VPUs (Intel Movidius, Coral TPU).
• Experience with deep learning–based CV methods (CNNs, transformers, object detection/segmentation frameworks such as YOLO, Faster R-CNN, Mask R-CNN, DETR, SAM, etc.).
• Knowledge of classical CV methods (SIFT, SURF, ORB, HOG, Harris/FAST/ORB keypoints).
• Understanding of image/video stabilization, SLAM, and 3D reconstruction fundamentals.
• Experience with containerization (Docker) and container orchestration.
• Proficiency with version control systems (Git) and build tools (CMake).
• Strong programming skills in C , Python, and/or Rust.

Requirements

• Must have US citizenship
• On-site, collaborative work environment