Staff Computer Vision Engineer - Perception (m/f/d)

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.

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. 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

About the Role