Robotics Software Engineer – AI Perception & Localization

Company Description At EnerRenew, we are accelerating the future of clean energy with solutions that integrate power generation and mobility. Our portfolio includes WINDTRACKER, a patented vertical-axis wind turbine system; an AI-driven Energy Management System; and X-Caddie, an autonomous mobile energy-storage and EV-charging robot designed for flexible, on-demand deployment in parking lots and campuses. With teams across the U.S. and China, we pair strong engineering with rapid product development to deliver intelligent, efficient energy solutions.

Role Description We are seeking a Robotics Software Engineer focused on perception and localization for X-Caddie - a skid-steer autonomous mobile robot (AMR). You will own how the robot senses and understands its environment and where it believes it is: detecting and tracking people and vehicles, fusing LiDAR, camera, and inertial data, and delivering pose estimates that the rest of the autonomy stack can trust. This is a hands-on robotics software role with substantial applied AI/ML in the perception pipeline. Because X-Caddie carries an onboard battery and operates around people, this is a safety-critical system, and you'll work within a safety architecture and toward relevant certification requirements.

This is a full-time, on-site position based in Saratoga, California, with occasional travel to local testing sites.

What You Will Do Primary focus - perception and localization:

Develop perception software for detection, classification, tracking, and semantic understanding from camera and LiDAR, tuned for low-speed operation around pedestrians and vehicles.

Build and improve state estimation and localization: multi-sensor fusion (LiDAR, IMU, wheel odometry) for reliable pose estimation, drift detection, and confidence reporting.

Develop close-range perception that supports precision docking and automated charging - locating and estimating the pose of the target vehicle and its charge port accurately enough to guide a robotic arm.

Make perception and localization robust to real-world conditions - glare and low light, partial occlusion, and feature-sparse, repetitive parking structures.

Define and track quality metrics for detection and pose accuracy, and drive them against ground truth on real hardware.

Shared across the autonomy team:

Collaborate with the robotics, controls, embedded-software, and hardware teams to develop and integrate new capabilities into the autonomous stack, respecting the boundary between the intelligence layer and the independent safety layer.

Validate work through simulation and on-site testing on real hardware; analyze performance and iterate.

Write and maintain production-quality code (Python and/or C++) within a ROS2-based system.

You'll also work alongside - and can grow into:

Robotic arm motion planning and the control side of automated plug insertion.

Real-time performance tuning of perception on embedded GPU hardware.

Motion planning and navigation, which consume your perception and pose outputs directly.

What We Expect From You

Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical/Mechanical Engineering, AI/ML, or a related field - with demonstrated autonomous-systems experience through projects, research, professional work, or internships. Depth of hands-on experience matters more than degree level.

Strong foundation in perception and state estimation - sensor fusion, filtering, SLAM or LiDAR-inertial odometry, and multi-object tracking.

Hands-on experience with deep-learning-based perception and frameworks such as PyTorch or TensorFlow.

High proficiency in C++ and Python, with an emphasis on performance-critical, real-time code.

Experience with ROS2 (or comparable robotics middleware) strongly preferred.

Familiarity with GPU/embedded optimization (e.g., NVIDIA Jetson, CUDA, TensorRT) is a plus.

Comfort working in a fast-paced, cross-functional team, with a first-principles, analytical approach to problem-solving.

A drive to take algorithms from prototype to real-world deployment on physical hardware.

What We Offer

Competitive base salary, depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

Stock options, depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

Health/Dental/Vision Insurance, Paid Time Off (PTO), and paid Public Holidays.

Pay: $110,000.00 - $180,000.00 per year

Benefits:

Dental insurance

Health insurance

Paid time off

Vision insurance

Application Question(s):

Will you now or will you in the future require employment visa sponsorship?

Ability to Commute:

Saratoga, CA 95070 (Required)

Work Location: In person