Job
- Level
- Senior
- Job Field
- Application, Embedded
- Employment Type
- Full Time
- Contract Type
- Permanent employment
- Location
- Munich
- Working Model
- Onsite
Job Summary
In this role, you will develop algorithms for spatial state estimation and visual-inertial odometry for autonomous systems to ensure reliable operation in challenging GPS-denied environments.
Job Technologies
Your role in the team
- Own the spatial state-estimation layer of our autonomy platform. Build the perception systems that let drones understand where they are, what they see, and how to operate when GPS, lighting, timing, and the real world get difficult.
- As Senior Perception Engineer - VIO / SLAM / Sensor Fusion, you will own core parts of the real-time perception and localization stack for our autonomous systems. You will develop and deploy the algorithms that let our platforms estimate motion, maintain pose, build spatial understanding, and operate reliably in degraded or GPS-denied environments.
- You will work across visual-inertial odometry, SLAM, sensor fusion, calibration, time synchronization, mapping, and real-time systems. Your work will sit at the center of our autonomy platform: connecting cameras, IMUs, GNSS, onboard compute, control systems, payloads, and Spatial AI models into a coherent understanding of the world.
- This is a hands-on engineering role. You will design algorithms, write production code, analyze logs, debug sensor issues, validate performance in simulation and flight, and work closely with robotics software, embedded, hardware, and field teams to turn perception research into fieldable capability.
- Continuously push the boundary of what's possible: Improve state estimation capabilities in very difficult field conditions during heavy rain, snow, fog, in the night, under strong vibration, motion blur, imperfect calibration and sensor degradation. Utilize improved fusion, novel deep learning methods and our data engine.
- VIO & State Estimation: Build, tune, and deploy robust visual-inertial odometry and state estimation pipelines for robotics systems operating in dynamic, outdoor, and GPS-challenged environments. Initial focus is on UAVs, but we want to build algorithms that work well for any robotics system.
- Sensor Fusion: Fuse and synchronize data from cameras, IMUs, magnetometers, barometers, and other onboard sensors into reliable pose, orientation, uncertainty estimates, and spatial context for downstream autonomy.
- SLAM & Re-localization: Build mapping, loop closure, re-localization, and map-based navigation capabilities that let our systems maintain spatial understanding across missions, environments, and degraded sensor conditions.
- Calibration & Timing: Own intrinsic, extrinsic, and temporal calibration workflows. Diagnose drift, latency, frame drops, sync issues, rolling-shutter effects, vibration, and sensor degradation.
- Real-Time Deployment: Optimize perception pipelines for onboard compute, including Nvidia Jetson-class platforms, low-power edge CPUs/GPUs, and resource-constrained robotic systems.
- Validation & Regression: Build replayable log pipelines, evaluation datasets, test metrics, and automated regression tests to measure localization accuracy, robustness, latency, and failure modes on a huge company-internal benchmark.
- Field Debugging: Analyze real mission logs, reproduce failures, isolate root causes, and improve the system until it works not only in ideal conditions, but in the field.
- Autonomy Integration: Define clean interfaces to planning, control, fleet coordination, operator UI, and Spatial AI systems so that perception outputs are usable, reliable, and explainable.
- Technical Leadership: Mentor engineers, review architecture and code, raise engineering standards, and help define the long-term perception roadmap for SE3's autonomous systems.
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Our expectations of you
Qualifications
- Most importantly, you're structured, fast-moving, and mission-driven. You don't wait for perfection. You iterate fast. You love building things that last and analyse and fix root cause problems over applying patches.
- You hold an M.Sc., Ph.D., or equivalent practical background in Robotics, Computer Vision, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Aerospace Engineering, or a related technical field.
- You have strong foundations in 3D geometry, linear algebra, probability, estimation theory, optimization, filtering, and real-time robotics systems.
- You are strong in C++, Python or Rust and comfortable writing production-quality software for Linux-based robotic systems.
- You have worked with real sensors and understand that perception failures often come from timing, calibration, vibration, lighting, motion blur, data quality, or integration issues rather than from the algorithm alone.
- You care about metrics, logs, reproducibility, and systematic validation. You don't just make a demo work once; you build the tools to know when it works, when it fails, and why.
- You speak fluent English; German is a plus. Given the nature of SE3's work in the defence sector, candidates must be eligible to work on defence-related projects and, where required, obtain the relevant security clearance.
Experience
- You bring several years of hands-on experience building perception, SLAM, VIO, localization, sensor-fusion, or state-estimation systems for real-world robotics, AR/VR, autonomous vehicles, drones, or adjacent domains.
- You have practical experience with techniques such as EKF, factor graphs, nonlinear least squares, bundle adjustment, visual odometry, inertial navigation, calibration, and multi-sensor fusion.
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What we offer
- Get equity early, real stock options to participate directly in SE3's growth.
- Find a high-quality and modern toolset, flat hierarchy, and a skilled, driven team that will push the limits together with you.
- We empower every employee with best-in-class AI tools and agents, giving you unlimited access to the latest advancements and a true productivity edge.
- 30 vacation days plus your birthday off.
- Free membership to gyms, yoga, and wellness through EGYM Wellpass.
- We go on 2 company retreats per year, our last ones were in Italy and Greece.
- Work closely with experienced engineers and get paired with a professional mentor to support your growth.
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Topics that you deal with on the job
Job Locations
This is your employer
SE3 Labs
SE3 Labs GmbH is a Munich-based startup specializing in the development of Spatial AI to transform spatial data into actionable insights. The technology integrates 3D vision with LLMs for applications in robotics, defense, smart infrastructure, and construction.
Description
- Company Type
- Startup
- Working Model
- Onsite
- Industry
- Internet, IT, Telecommunication
Senior Perception Engineer
- Location
- Munich
- Working Model
- Onsite
- Diversity
- Open for all genders
