# Principal Software Engineer, Perception at Saildrone

- Company: Saildrone
- What the company does: Saildrone is a maritime defense company that builds autonomous systems to give decision-makers and warfighters the enduring advantage to outpace adversaries. Backed by Lux.
- Company website: https://saildrone.com
- Type: Startups (AI role)
- Level: Principal and up
- Location: Alameda, California, United States
- Work setup: On-site
- Posted: 2026-09-18
- Apply by: 2026-11-02
- Apply: https://www.saildrone.com/careers/available-jobs?gh_jid=4412051009
- Page: https://www.1752.vc/careers/jobs/saildrone-principal-software-engineer-perception/

## About the role

Saildrone’s manufacturing and R&D headquarters are located in Alameda, CA, with business development and sales operations in Washington, DC, and deployment hubs in Europe and the Middle East. By combining proven autonomous operations, edge computing, advanced sensing, renewable power, and the most advanced and robust unmanned surface technology on the planet, Saildrone is shaping how the Navy of the future operates.

## What they're looking for

- Exceptional depth in perception and robotics, with a track record of deploying perception systems on autonomous vehicles, robots, aerospace, defense, or similarly complex physical systems
- Deep expertise in sensor fusion, probabilistic estimation, and uncertainty modeling
- Strong mathematical and algorithmic foundations, with depth in multiple areas such as computer vision, localization, state estimation, tracking, mapping, or machine learning
- A track record of taking sophisticated algorithms or research from experimentation into reliable production systems
- Experience setting technical direction and architecture for complex autonomous systems
- Exceptional technical judgment demonstrated through consequential technical decisions and problem solving

Tags: Software