NRCA Sr Robotics/AI Engineer

Company Summary:

Nikon Research Corporation of America (NRCA) located in Belmont, CA and Tucson, AZ is a 70-person R&D subsidiary of Nikon, Japan.  Members of our Precision Mechatronics group design and build prototype systems to support Nikon’s Next Generation Project Division efforts to invent new products that will power Nikon’s future. Examples of the products we work on are metal 3D printers, precision measurement and robotics, industrial metrology tools, optical measurement equipment, and semiconductor lithography machines (wafer steppers). The engineering is challenging and fun, because with micron- and nanometer-level accuracy everything (e.g., mechanical stiffness, thermal expansion, actuator linearity, sensor accuracy, acoustic vibration, structural resonance) matters.  The work environment is great because we have the informality and flexibility of a small company, but the stability and resources of a big parent in Japan.

Position Title: Robotics/AI Engineer

Location: Belmont, CA

Position Type: Full Time, Regular

FLSA Status: Exempt

Salary Range: $130,000-$180,000

Posted salary range is entry level, actual compensation depends on experience level

Schedule: Monday – Friday; flexible hours; 40 hours a week; evening meetings with Japan

Environment: Lab environment onsite

Travel: Domestic and International Travel Required

Position Overview:

As a Robotics/AI Engineer, you will be responsible for design and development of robotics algorithms for unique challenges in robot manipulation and control. The role includes exposure to hands-on experience in developing novel solutions to enable Nikon’s industrial automation products. Through collaboration with fellow robotics and deep learning engineer, you will contribute to the development of Nikon’s next generation software and hardware systems, and enabling deployment in wide range of industrial environments.

Description of responsibilities:

• Design and maintain robotics software stack for planning and control on a variety of robot manipulators.
• Develop innovative 3D perception solutions for handling industrial objects.
• Deploy and evaluate software for motion planning, obstacle avoidance and tracking of robot manipulators. 

Required Skills/Abilities:

• Master/Ph.D. in Robotics, Computer Science,  Electrical or related field.
• Experience in working with robotic arm software and hardware platforms.
• Working knowledge of camera calibration and image processing algorithms.
• Knowledge of AI computer vision, image recognition CNN, vision transformer etc.
• Knowledge of Reinforcement Learning (RL) and its application
• Knowledge of LLM and its application.
• Proficiency in C (required) and knowledge of Python is a plus.
• Demonstrated ability to write production level software.
• Experience with robot and computer vision software libraries such as ROS, PCL, OMPL, OpenCV.
• Knowledge of robot motion planning and obstacle avoidance. 
• Familiarity with control theory and developing control for robot manipulators.

If you have most or all of the following, please apply:

• PhD degree in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering or a related field;
• Publications in top-tier research conferences such as ICRA, IROS, RSS, CoRL, CVPR, etc and contributions to popular robotics frameworks.

• Experience in 3D image manipulation, camera calibration and depth computation.
• Experience with novel deep-learning methods for semantic segmentation, VLMs and libraries such as PyTorch, Jax.
• Working knowledge of AI computer vision, image recognition CNN, vision transformer etc.
• Working knowledge of Reinforcement Learning (RL) and its application
• Working knowledge of LLM and its application.
• Familiarity with robot simulation platforms (Gazebo, CoppeliSim, Isaac) and digital twins.

• Demonstrated experience in robot stack development and deployment.

• Demonstrated technical lead experience, coordinating team of robotics and AI engineers and leading projects from conception to deployment.

Compensation and Benefits:

NRCA is committed to providing a competitive total rewards package, including but not limited to:

• Competitive compensation, including:
  • Base pay
  • Annual cash bonus
• Work/Life balance, flex/hybrid/work from home if applicable
• 401K retirement plan with employer contribution (no employee matching required!)
• Exceptional medical, dental, prescription, vision, other insurance programs
• Flexible spending accounts (FSA) for health and dependent care expenses
• Paid vacation, sick and volunteer time plus holidays
• Strong career development and plentiful training opportunities, including Tuition Assistance
• Employee events, activities, and volunteer opportunities
• Nikon product discount program
• Commitment to and support of diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Confidential Employee Assistance Program (EAP) including mental health resources and support
• Opportunities for domestic and international travel (if applicable)

Other Job Requirements:

• Export Control/ ITAR: Due to export control and International Traffic In Arms Regulations (ITAR) requirements, in order to be eligible for NPI employment, you must be a S. citizen, have a permanent resident status in the U.S. (a “green card”), or a foreign national with eligibility as defined by ITAR (22 CFR 120.15).

Equal Employment Opportunity:

Nikon Research Corporation of America is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Privacy Notice and Consent:

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (“CCPA”) and other applicable privacy regulations, Nikon Research Corporation of America (NRCA) is required to disclose whenever personal information is collected from you in certain contexts, such as to provide or receive a product or service. If you have a visual disability, you may be able to use a screen reader or other tools to review the contents of this notice. More information about NRCAs Privacy Policy is available at: https://www.nikonprecision.com/privacy/. For CA Residents, please carefully review NRCAs Supplemental CCPA Privacy Policy available at: https://www.nikonprecision.com/privacy/caresidentsonly/.

By clicking “apply,” you authorize and give your consent for NRCA to use the personal information you provided for future communications related to the recruitment and hiring process, both for current and future job openings (“Purpose”). You further certify that you are over 18 years of age. NRCA may be required to provide your contact information to third parties in order to perform the above Purpose. However, NRCA does not sell, rent, or lease your personal information to third parties.

Salary : $130,000 - $180,000