Senior Perception Engineer

Skip to main contentJobsDashboardProfileJoin Talent NetworkSign InEnglishSingle PositionView All JobsSenior Perception EngineerSanta Clara,California,United StatesApply NowFind out how well you match with this jobUpload your resumeJob descriptionJob ID122281There are over 7 billion people on this planet. And by 2050, there will be 2 billion more... 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.  John Deere is an equal opportunity employer, including disabled & veterans. Primary Location: United States (US) - California  - Santa Clara  Function: Product Engineering (CA)Title: Senior Perception Engineer - 122281 Onsite/Remote:Onsite PositionYour 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 environmentDevelop and maintain key components of the perception pipeline, including data ingestion, labeling, model execution, and downstream interfaces used by planning and controlsDiagnose and resolve perception failures using logs and sensor data — reconstructing system behavior when real‑time debugging isn’t possible and driving issues to root causeImplement and optimize C++ modules running on embedded and edge compute platforms, ensuring real‑time performance, robustness, and clean integration with the broader autonomy systemTrain, evaluate, and deploy applied ML models for detection, segmentation, tracking, and scene understanding — focusing on production reliability rather than research noveltyImprove the quality and maintainability of perception codebases by refactoring legacy components, tightening interfaces, and eliminating technical debtCollaborate closely with robotics, systems, and platform teams to ensure perception outputs meet system‑level requirements and integrate cleanly across boundariesContribute to team engineering culture through thoughtful code reviews, design discussions, and sharing best practices in C++, ML, and systems debuggingDrive 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 positionWhat 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 TensorFlowAbility to work effectively across system boundaries — from onboard compute and middleware to cloud‑based data workflowsDemonstrated ability to deliver high‑quality, maintainable code and collaborate effectively within a multidisciplinary engineering teamStrong debugging skills, especially in log‑driven environments where issues span multiple processes, sensors, or system layersExperience 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 ecosystemExperience deploying ML models to embedded platforms (Jetson, ARM, x86) and optimizing for latency, memory, or power constraintsBackground in classical computer vision, sensor fusion, or tracking algorithmsExperience with static analysis and code quality tools (clang‑tidy, ASAN/TSAN/UBSAN)Experience with simulation environments, synthetic data generation, or system‑level testing frameworksSolid...