Staff Perception

Se3
Munich, Germany
On-site

Who this role is best for

Geared toward technical leaders with deep perception system experience comfortable with field deployment and algorithmic design. The role is based in Munich and emphasizes real-world robotics and autonomous systems applications.

Best fit for

  • Candidates with advanced degrees and industry experience in robotics or autonomous systems
    — “Ph.D. with 3+ years of industry experience, or an M.Sc with 6+ years”
  • Individuals who thrive on solving complex perception challenges and have a strong hands-on approach
    — “Take on SE3's hardest perception problems as a hands-on technical leader”

Things to consider

  • Security clearance eligibility is a non-negotiable requirement for this defense-focused role
    — “candidates must be eligible to work on defence-related projects”
  • The role demands significant field trial involvement, which may require travel or time outside of a traditional office setting
    — “take them through field trials until they work under real operating conditions”

How to stand out

  • Highlight real-world perception system deployment experience in your resume and interview responses
    — “building perception systems that shipped and worked in the real world”
  • Emphasize your ability to lead through technical influence and mentorship
    — “lead through technical influence, setting direction, reviewing designs and helping others grow”
  • Showcase your expertise in object detection, tracking, segmentation, and depth estimation
    — “deep expertise across modern perception, including object detection, tracking, segmentation and depth estimation”
  • Demonstrate your experience with real-time, resource-constrained compute platforms
    — “Deploying models on real-time, resource-constrained compute such as Jetson-class platforms”
Pace · Fast PacedCollaboration · HighAutonomy · HighDecision Impact · Team

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • shaping the architecture of the perception stack
  • building reliable object detection and tracking
  • developing semantic segmentation and depth estimation
  • optimizing models for onboard compute
Typical background
PhD or Master's in Computer Vision, Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering or related field3+ years of industry experience in building perception systems

Skills & requirements

Required

3D Computer VisionState EstimationAIObject DetectionMulti-object TrackingSemantic SegmentationDepth EstimationEvaluation And Replay LoopReal-world DeploymentTechnical Leadership

Preferred

GermanDefense-related Projects

Stack & domain

3D Computer VisionState EstimationAIObject DetectionTrackingSemantic SegmentationDepth EstimationAlgorithmic DecisionsLeadershipCommunicationProblem-solvingAutonomous SystemsComputer VisionDefense

About the role

Original posting from Se3 via Ashby

JOIN SE3 LABS AS STAFF COMPUTER VISION ENGINEER - PERCEPTION

Take on SE3's hardest perception problems as a hands-on technical leader, and ship systems that work on real missions.

ABOUT SE3

SE3 Labs builds spatial intelligence and autonomy software for unmanned systems. We combine 3D computer vision, state estimation and AI to help autonomous platforms perceive their surroundings, know where they are and operate when GPS and other sensors become unreliable. Defence is a core application of our work today.

We are growing to a team of 100+ people. Join at a stage where you can shape our Perception team, help build the team and grow your responsibilities as the company expands.

Our founding team's research has received more than 90,000 citations. You will work closely with technical founders and engineers with deep experience in computer vision and autonomous systems, turning that research depth into systems that work in the field.

ABOUT THE ROLE

As Staff Computer Vision Engineer - Perception, you'll set technical direction for SE3's perception stack across object detection, tracking, semantic segmentation and depth estimation, and spend around 80% of your time building it yourself. You'll work closely with our perception lead, founders and autonomy engineers, shaping architecture and core algorithmic decisions without people-management responsibility. Your work moves from recorded data to field trials and determines how well our platforms understand their surroundings.

WHAT YOU’LL WORK ON

  • Architecture & Algorithms: Shape the architecture of the perception stack and drive core algorithmic decisions together with the team lead.
  • Detection & Tracking: Build object detection and multi-object tracking that stay reliable on real mission data.
  • Segmentation & Depth: Develop semantic segmentation and depth estimation that give downstream autonomy a dependable picture of the scene.
  • Evaluation & Replay: Design the evaluation and replay loop so the team iterates mostly on recorded data, with clear metrics, benchmark datasets and regression tests.
  • Real-World Deployment: Optimize models for onboard compute and take them through field trials until they work under real operating conditions.
  • Technical Roadmap: Contribute to the perception roadmap by identifying the problems that matter most for field performance.
  • Technical Leadership: Raise the engineering bar through design and code reviews, and mentor engineers by example.

YOUR PROFILE

  • You take ownership of hard problems and want to solve them hands-on, spending most of your time designing, coding and testing.
  • You hold a Ph.D. with 3+ years of industry experience, or an M.Sc http://M.Sc. with 6+ years, in Computer Vision, Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering or a related field.
  • You have a proven record of building perception systems that shipped and worked in the real world, in robotics, autonomous driving, AR/VR, drones or adjacent domains.
  • You bring deep expertise across modern perception, including object detection, tracking, segmentation and depth estimation, and you base design decisions on evaluation data.
  • You lead through technical influence, setting direction, reviewing designs and helping others grow, without needing a management role.
  • 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.

ESPECIALLY VALUED BONUS SKILLS

  • Publications at CVPR, ICCV, ECCV, NeurIPS or similar venues.
  • Contributions to well-used open-source computer vision or robotics projects.
  • Academic research or teaching experience alongside industry work.
  • Deploying models on real-time, resource-constrained compute such as Jetson-class platforms.
  • Field experience with UAVs or other robots that get tested outside the lab.

PERKS & BENEFITS

  • Real Ownership: Participate in SE3’s growth through our employee participation programme
  • Work Environment to Excel at: Find a high-quality and modern toolset, flat hierarchy and a skilled, driven team which will push the limits together with you
  • AI-boosted workplace: 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
  • 31 Paid Days Off: 30 vacation days plus your birthday off
  • Well-being Access: Free membership to gyms, yoga, and wellness through EGYM Wellpass
  • Team Offsites: We go on 2 company retreats per year, our last ones were in Italy and Greece
  • Mentorship: Work closely with experienced engineers and get paired with a professional mentor to support your growth

OUR PROCESS

  • Intro Call (30 min): Let’s get to know each other
  • Coding / Algorithm Interview: (90 min): We work through a practical perception, estimation, or robotics software problem together
  • Technical Interview (1 hr): We dive into perception systems you have built and shipped, the hardest technical decisions you have made and how you raise the bar for a team.
  • Team Dinner / Lunch: Meet the team and see whether it is a strong fit on both sides.

Source: Se3 careers (Ashby)

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