Zipline · 5 months ago
Perception CV/ML SWE
South San Francisco, California, USA
Full-time
Onsite
Senior Level, Lead/Staff
$180K/yr - $230K/yr
8+ years expZipline is on a mission to transform the way goods move, aiming to solve complex access challenges through innovative delivery systems. They are seeking a Senior Machine Learning and Perception Engineer to design and deploy advanced algorithms for aircraft and obstacle detection, ensuring safe navigation for their autonomous delivery drones.
DeliveryDronesElectric VehicleHome Health CareLogisticsRoboticsSupply Chain Management
Responsibilities
Advance the Frontiers of Perception: Design and deploy cutting-edge algorithms to detect, localize, and track aircraft and tall obstacles using monocular and multi-view camera systems — combining deep learning with geometric vision to achieve robust 3D situational awareness at scale
Engineer Reliable Vision Systems: Develop scalable model training pipelines and build rigorous evaluation frameworks that capture real-world performance across edge cases and long-tail scenarios
Integrate Across Systems: Collaborate with systems, flight test, and validation teams to design end-to-end test plans that push perception to the edge of capability — and beyond Zipline’s strict safety and reliability standards
Own Operational Performance: Create powerful debugging, visualization, and analysis tools that drive insight from field data, enabling rapid triage and root-cause analysis of perception issues in live deployments
Learn Fast, Iterate Faster: Leverage simulation and real-world feedback to continuously refine both ML models and classical tracking algorithms — improving accuracy, latency, and robustness in challenging operational conditions
Set the Standard for Airspace Autonomy: Contribute to the long-term vision and architecture of Zipline’s detect-and-avoid system, helping shape a perception stack that leads the industry in safety, reliability, and autonomy
Qualification
Required
8+ years of professional experience crafting and deploying sophisticated perception systems for autonomous robots, aircraft, or vehicles
Expertise in state-of-the-art deep learning models, specifically focused on object detection and tracking, honed through real-world deployments
Deep knowledge of geometric computer vision techniques, including stereo vision, depth-from-motion, structure-from-motion, and visual odometry, for precise depth and 3D position estimation
Innovative mindset and practical problem-solving skills, demonstrated by a proven track record of overcoming performance bottlenecks and resolving operational edge cases
Hands-on experience supporting commercially operated autonomous systems, including diagnosing issues and enhancing system reliability in live environments
Exceptional communication and teamwork abilities, capable of thriving in a dynamic, cross-disciplinary engineering environment committed to safety-critical operations
Benefits
Equity compensation
Overtime pay
Discretionary annual or performance bonuses
Sales incentives
Benefits such as medical, dental and vision insurance
Paid time off
Company
Zipline
Zipline designs, manufactures, and operates drones to deliver vital medical products.
1001-5000 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Zipline has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (54)
2024 (39)
2023 (29)
2022 (20)
2021 (16)
2020 (3)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
$971MKey Investors
U.S. Department of StateThe Rise FundKatalyst Ventures
2025-11-25Grant· $150M
2023-04-28Series F· $330M
2021-06-30Series E· $250M
Leadership Team
Keller Rinaudo Cliffton
Co-founder & CEO
Keenan Wyrobek
Founder, CTO and Product Architect
Recent News
felicis.com
2025-12-26
Company data provided by crunchbase