Engineering Manager – Perception

Engineering Manager – Perception

Columbia, SC (full time on site)

What we do

Integer Technologies is an applied research and product development company founded by scientists and engineers with a passion for technology and national security. We perform R&D on next-generation systems and technologies for the Department of Defense and other U.S. Government agencies. We are hardware and software developers with experience turning research into impactful products for military and commercial applications. Our core portfolio of research includes projects in power & energy systems, uncrewed systems (with an emphasis on maritime systems), digital engineering, and advanced manufacturing. We are a startup founded for the purpose of putting research into action. Our mission is to create a safer world by translating scientific discoveries into reliable products that address urgent national security needs… at the speed of relevance.

Our perception systems portfolio includes work on critical enabling technologies for more reliable, more intelligent, and longer-duration uncrewed vehicles. We are actively developing a new perception system for ships that automatically detects objects on and just below the surface of the water, day or night, and in most weather conditions, by fusing sensor data from multi-spectral cameras and radar using reliable and validated computer vision algorithms. This perception system will be a key enabler for uncrewed ships to navigate safely without human intervention.

Company Benefits

• Integer fully covers medical, prescription, vision, and dental insurance costs for the employee and dependents. Meaning the Integer standard plan pays 100% of health insurance premiums for your entire family from a well-known national insurer, saving its employee’s thousands of dollars annually.
• Relocation assistance available.
• Base salaries which exceed local & national industry averages.
• Year-end performance-based bonuses.
• 401(k) with company matching that vest immediately; no funny business.
• Paid Vacation
• Paid Sick Leave
• Paid Holidays

Company Perks

• Startup culture with the stability of a large company. Integer’s business plan has years of time phased contracted work, alleviating the would-be risk from a traditional small company.
• Direct access to company leadership, prioritization of people over process, and a stellar team with a shared desire for personal and professional growth.
• Friendly atmosphere where people enjoy not only their work and what they're creating but enjoy helping each other as well.
• Bottomless Coffee!

About the Role

The Engineering Manager will lead and organize our team of scientists and engineers developing a novel perception system to achieve successful field testing of prototypes and continuous improvement of the commercial product. The Engineering Manager will also be the Principal Investigator (PI) for government-sponsored research projects in the technical areas of electro-optical sensing, sensor fusion, computer vision, and robotic perception systems. As such, the Engineering Manager will have experience driving research projects from start to completion.

Candidates must have experience developing computer vision algorithms, software, and sensor system design to fuse multiple sensors (cameras, radar, IMU, and AIS) into an integrated perception system. The Engineering Manager will apply this experience at Integer Technologies to prototyping new technology enabling uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) to understand their operating environment and navigate while avoiding obstacles and collisions. Experience with perception systems for maritime vehicles, or the ability to transfer knowledge from other vehicles to the maritime domain is important. This role will involve working with both hardware and software to integrate data from cameras, radar, IMU, and AIS and develop software to process that data to detect and localize objects around a USV. Most importantly, the Engineering Manager will have experience leading teams of scientists and engineers in research, development, rapid prototyping, and testing.

Primary Responsibilities

• Lead a team of engineers developing novel computer vision software and perception hardware (cameras, radar, edge computing).
• Organize and prioritize the team’s efforts to achieve regular test and demonstration of new features and performance improvements.
• Plan and clearly communicate tasking to the engineering team on multiple timescales (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly). Track progress and provide continuous hands-on technical guidance so that the team achieves its development goals.
• Serve as Integer’s technical authority, both internally and externally, on computer vision and perception systems technology including sensors, edge computing, and detection algorithms.
• Clearly communicate development plans and status to upper management.
• Support company growth and influence the technical direction by architecting solutions to new problems and new customer needs related to perception systems and computer vision.
• Lead and assist with writing new proposals related to perception systems and computer vision to grow the Company.
• Ensure timely and high-quality completion of deliverables for the projects under your management, including briefing to Government sponsors.
• Manage a technical program manager for project management of the perception portfolio, including tracking and forecasting costs.
• Recruit additional scientists and engineers to grow a high-performance team.
• Embody Integer’s core values: Integrity, Agility, Growth, Open-Mindedness, Commitment.

Qualification Requirements

• Must be a U.S. Citizen with the ability to obtain a US DoD Secret clearance.
• Experience managing, leading, and growing teams in a fast-paced engineering organization.
• Deep understanding of topics in computer vision, autonomous vehicles / robotics, and perception sensor solutions.
• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, computer science, or related technical discipline.
• 5 years of industry experience as an engineer working on machine learning, computer vision, image processing, perception sensors such as cameras and radar, and on-vehicle computing.
• Strong working knowledge of software development using modern C and Python.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to travel occasionally, estimated at less than 10% of the time.

Additional Desired Qualifications

• Experience working on other aspects of autonomous vehicles, such as autonomous navigation and path planning.
• Experience with maritime autonomy (e.g., autonomous surface vessels or autonomous underwater vehicles).
• Masters or Ph.D. in computer vision, robotics, autonomous vehicles, or related field.
• Previously served as the Principal Investigator (PI) on a DoD research program.
• Track record of transitioning to production from R&D.