Senior Perception Engineer

There are over 7 billion people on this planet. And by 2050, there will be 2 billion many moving into urban centers at an unprecedented rate. Making sure there is enough food, fiber and infrastructure for our rapidly growing world is what we're all about at John Deere. And it's why we're investing in our people and our technology like never before! Here the world's brightest minds are tackling the world's biggest challenges. If you believe one person can make the world a better place, we'll put you to work. RIGHT NOW.

Primary Location: United States (US) - California - Santa Clara

Function: Product Engineering (CA)

Title: Senior Perception Engineer - 122281

Onsite/Remote:Onsite Position

Your Responsibilities

As a Senior Perception Engineer for John Deere ISG located in Santa Clara, CA, you will:

Develop and maintain perception capabilities across the full autonomy stack - working from onboard C++ systems and sensor interfaces up through applied ML models that interpret the environment

Develop and maintain key components of the perception pipeline, including data ingestion, labeling, model execution, and downstream interfaces used by planning and controls

Diagnose and resolve perception failures using logs and sensor data - reconstructing system behavior when real‑time debugging isn’t possible and driving issues to root cause

Implement and optimize C++ modules running on embedded and edge compute platforms, ensuring real‑time performance, robustness, and clean integration with the broader autonomy system

Train, evaluate, and deploy applied ML models for detection, segmentation, tracking, and scene understanding - focusing on production reliability rather than research novelty

Improve the quality and maintainability of perception codebases by refactoring legacy components, tightening interfaces, and eliminating technical debt

Collaborate closely with robotics, systems, and platform teams to ensure perception outputs meet system‑level requirements and integrate cleanly across boundaries

Contribute to team engineering culture through thoughtful code reviews, design discussions, and sharing best practices in C++, ML, and systems debugging

Drive clarity in ambiguous problem spaces by breaking down perception issues into actionable engineering tasks and proposing pragmatic solutions

VISA Sponsorship is NOT available for this position

What Skills You Need

3 or more years of professional software engineering experience, including substantial work in modern C++

Hands‑on experience with applied machine learning for perception - training, evaluating, and deploying models using frameworks such as PyTorch or TensorFlow

Ability to work effectively across system boundaries - from onboard compute and middleware to cloud‑based data workflows

Demonstrated ability to deliver high‑quality, maintainable code and collaborate effectively within a multidisciplinary engineering team

Strong debugging skills, especially in log‑driven environments where issues span multiple processes, sensors, or system layers

Experience working with sensor data (camera, LiDAR, radar) and building or maintaining perception data pipelines

What Makes You Standout

Experience with ROS 2 (nodes, lifecycle, launch, parameters, QoS) and its build ecosystem

Experience deploying ML models to embedded platforms (Jetson, ARM, x86) and optimizing for latency, memory, or power constraints

Background in classical computer vision, sensor fusion, or tracking algorithms

Experience with static analysis and code quality tools (clang‑tidy, ASAN/TSAN/UBSAN)

Experience with simulation environments, synthetic data generation, or system‑level testing frameworks

Solid understanding of Linux development, build systems (CMake, Bazel, or colcon), and containerized workflows (Docker)

Familiarity with concurrency, performance constraints, and real‑time considerations in robotics or embedded systems

Domain experience in agricultural, mining, construction, or other off‑highway autonomous systems

Education

Ideally, you will have a degree or equivalent related work experience in the following:

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, or a related technical field

Master's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, or a related technical field is preferred

Coursework or demonstrated expertise in perception, machine learning, or robotics software architecture is preferred

What You'll Get

At John Deere, you are empowered to create a career that will take you to where you want to go while working in an inclusive team environment. Here, you'll enjoy the freedom to explore new projects, the support to think outside the box and the advanced tools and technology that foster innovation and achievement. Additionally, we offer a comprehensive reward package to help you get started on your new career path, including:

Flexible work arrangements

Highly competitive base pay

Savings & Retirement benefits (401K and Defined Contribution)

Healthcare benefits with a generous company contribution in the Health Savings Account

Adoption assistance

Employee Assistance Programs

Tuition assistance

Fitness subsidies and on-site gyms at specific Deere locations

Charitable contribution match

Employee Purchase Plan & numerous discount programs for personal use

Vacation and Holiday Pay

$124,584.00 - $186,864.00 + Benefits

Follow this link to learn more about our Total Rewards Package https://bit.ly/3XCd8fL

Must be 18 years of age or older to apply

The information contained herein is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities and qualifications required of individuals performing the job. The qualifications detailed in this job description are not considered the minimum requirements necessary to perform the job, but rather as guidelines.

The terms of the applicable benefit plans, and all company actions administering or interpreting these plans, continue to control. Deere & Company reserves the right to suspend, amend, modify, or terminate the Plan(s) in any manner at any time, including the right to modify or eliminate any cost-sharing between the company and participants. Changes, which can be made at any time, are made by action of the company's board of directors, or to the extent authorized by resolution of its board of directors, or by the Deere & Company Compensation Committee. In the event of a conflict between the language of the official Plan Documents and this document, the language of the official Plan Documents will control.

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