# Principal Machine Learning Engineer (EO/IR Image Analysis) at Rocket Lab

- Company: Rocket Lab
- What the company does: The end-to-end space company delivering reliable launch services, spacecraft, satellite components. Backed by Bessemer and Khosla.
- Company website: https://www.rocketlabusa.com/
- Type: Startups (AI role)
- Level: Principal and up
- Location: Tucson, AZ
- Work setup: On-site
- Posted: 2026-10-11
- Apply by: 2026-11-25
- Apply: https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/rocketlab/jobs/8002621003?utm_source=1752vc&utm_medium=careers
- Page: https://www.1752.vc/careers/jobs/rocket-lab-principal-machine-learning-engineer-eo-ir-image-analysis/

## About the role

As Principal Machine Learning Engineer for Rocket Lab Optical Systems in Tucson, AZ, you will have the opportunity to support Tranche 3 of the U.S. Space Development Agency's (SDA) Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) and beyond by building deep learning neural networks for advanced Electro-Optical (EO/IR) image processing. Found on 1752vc Careers, the job board for startup and VC roles.

## What they're looking for

- Bachelor's degree and 12+ years of experience, master’s degree or a Ph.D. in Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, or related field
- Strong background in math and fundamentals of machine learning, including model selection, architecting, training, validation, testing, and deployment
- Experience in building deep learning neural networks (e.g., CNN) for computer vision, image processing, or analyses, e.g., object detection, image segmentation, and tracking)
- Strong math background, particularly linear algebra and optimization theory
- Proficiency in Python
- Experience with deep learning libraries (Keras, TensorFlow, Pytorch, etc)

Tags: OS - Software Engineering

Source: 1752vc Careers, https://www.1752.vc/careers/jobs/rocket-lab-principal-machine-learning-engineer-eo-ir-image-analysis/