Meta · 12 hours ago
Robotics Engineer - Autonomous Drone System
Menlo Park, CA
Full-time
Onsite
Senior Level, Lead/Staff
$173/hr - $245/hr
10+ years expMeta is seeking a System Engineer to join our Infra Robotics team, which implements advanced robotics technologies to enable efficient and safe data center operations. The Drone Inspection & Data Integration Engineer will integrate autonomous drone platforms and inspection data workflows into Meta’s facility operations, collaborating closely with various teams to ensure successful automated inspections.
Computer Software
Responsibilities
Partner with Facility Operations, infrastructure, and robotics teams to understand inspection workflows, operational requirements, and opportunities to automate inspections with autonomous drone systems
Translate inspection, data-collection, and autonomy needs into product requirements and technical specifications, identifying tradeoffs across sensing, navigation, platform capability, and operational constraints
Develop drone-based inspection capabilities, including autonomous navigation, mission execution, sensor/payload operation, and structured capture of imagery, video, telemetry, and mapping data
Collect and analyze inspection workflows—including mission patterns, environmental conditions, safety constraints, and data-quality needs—to inform autonomy, sensing, and data-integration design
Support the design and integration of data pipelines for ingestion, normalization, processing, labeling, analytics, and routing results into Facility Operations systems
Participate in architecture and design reviews to surface gaps in autonomy stack behavior, sensing performance, data flow, safety considerations, or system integration
Build and test prototypes to validate navigation robustness, perception accuracy, and data-quality metrics in representative facility environments
Develop and execute test plans for autonomous inspection workflows, covering functional behavior, environmental robustness, edge cases, and data-quality verification
Perform root-cause analysis for navigation drift, perception faults, data inconsistencies, mission failures, or integration issues with internal tools
Support field pilots, site acceptance testing, operational workflow definition, and post-release improvements for drone inspection systems
Contribute to product and technology roadmaps for autonomous inspection, sensing improvements, and data-integration enhancements
Engage with drone vendors, autonomy providers, and data-platform partners to evaluate new capabilities and industry trends
Visit data center sites for flight tests, data-collection exercises, system evaluations, and collaboration with local subject matter experts
This role requires effective communication, leadership, interpersonal, organizational, engineering, program management, and analytical skills
Qualification
Required
BS in Engineering (Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical, Mechanical, Aerospace, or equivalent)
10+ years of experience in robotics, autonomous drones, inspection automation, or related mechatronic systems, including 3+ years of hands-on experience with drone perception or autonomy systems (e.g., SLAM, VIO, LiDAR/vision fusion, obstacle avoidance, localization)
Experience with drone operations and flight testing, including mission execution, payload operation, and flight-safety practices
Experience with the BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) permitting process for drone operations, including preparing and submitting flight requests, ensuring compliance with aviation regulations, and coordinating with internal and external stakeholders to secure necessary approvals. Familiarity with risk mitigation, pilot certification, and insurance requirements for BVLOS operations is essential
Experience capturing and processing structured inspection data (imagery, video, telemetry, mapping, or environmental sensing)
Familiarity with data-pipeline workflows such as ingestion, ETL, labeling, storage, indexing, or analytics
Experience integrating hardware, autonomy software, and sensing systems into a cohesive robotic or drone platform
Familiarity with QA/QC testing, validation, and verification for autonomy systems or data pipelines
Effective communication and leadership skills, able to collaborate across cross-functional engineering and operations teams
Proficiency in at least one higher-level programming language (e.g., Python, C++, or similar) for automation, data handling, or prototyping
Effective troubleshooting skills across autonomy behavior, perception failures, data inconsistencies, and system-integration issues
Ability to interpret inspection workflows, asset requirements, or operational constraints to inform engineering decisions
Ability to travel up to 30% domestically and internationally to Meta data centers and test locations
Preferred
Master's in a relevant field
Experience with indoor or GPS-denied drone navigation, including SLAM/VIO tuning and sensor calibration
Hands-on experience with drone fleet management, mission orchestration, or remote operations tools
Familiarity with cloud or edge-based data pipelines, including data ingestion, indexing, and analytics workflows
Experience with ROS/ROS2 or similar robotics middleware for integrating autonomy, sensing, and mission-control software
Knowledge of multi-modal sensing (LiDAR, depth, stereo, thermal/IR) for inspection and mapping tasks
Experience developing or supporting inspection analytics, anomaly detection, or automated defect-classification workflows
Familiarity with data center or facility inspection workflows and asset-monitoring best practices
Company
Meta
Meta's mission is to build the future of human connection and the technology that makes it possible.
10001+ employees
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageLeadership Team
Kathryn Glickman
Director, CEO Communications
Christine Lu
CTO Business Engineering NA
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