Senior Machine Learning Engineer

Overview

Rocket Lab is an end-to-end space company delivering responsive launch services, complete spacecraft design and manufacturing, payloads, satellite components, and more. Our Space Systems team builds everything from complete spacecraft, precision payloads to the components and subsystems that allow them to thrive in space, including solar panels, flight software, star trackers, optical systems, separation systems, radios, and more. Our Space Systems team has enabled more than 1,700 missions, ranging from interplanetary exploration, in-space manufacturing to national security and defense initiatives.

The team has built spacecraft, payloads, and components for missions to the Moon and Mars, working with partners including NASA, the Space Development Agency, and the U.S. Space Force.

SENIOR MACHINE LEARNING ENGINEER I

Rocket Lab’s Optical Systems division solves mission-critical space domain and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) challenges for Department of Defense (DoD) and Intelligence Community (IC) customers. Our vision is to revolutionize the space-based payload market with innovative and novel designs for space, terrestrial, and airborne environments. Building on more than 20 years of electro-optical and infrared systems innovation from Geost, Optical Systems delivers solutions to the warfighter for responsive, scalable sensing solutions across all orbital domains.

As a Senior Machine Learning Engineer I based at our Optical Systems site in Tucson, AZ, you will have the opportunity to collaborate with researchers on high-impact ML, AI, and computer vision projects. Join a driven team of pioneers relentlessly tackling challenging projects, delivering on the impossible, and making an impact on the future of space!

• Collaborate with researchers on projects related to machine learning, artificial intelligence, and computer vision
• Perform rapid prototyping and enhanced development to be integrated into operational systems
• Contribute your strong programming ability and experience to develop robust solutions for real-world problems
• Validate, optimize, and deploy advanced exploitation algorithms
• Perform troubleshooting, bug fixes, and maintenance of existing and new code to ensure stability and robustness
• Perform other duties as assigned
• Ability to support travel or off-site work, as needed

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, electrical or computer engineering, mechanical engineering, physics, or other field
• 5+ years of software experience
• Active TS/SCI U.S. Government Security Clearance
• Proficiency in Python
• Experience with deep learning libraries (PyTorch, Tensor Flow, etc.)
• Strong background in both classical and modern (deep learning) machine learning including model selection, architecting, training, validation, testing, and deployment
• Understanding of a variety of machine learning tasks, e.g. Object Detection, Segmentation, Re-Identification, Tracking, Super Resolution
• Ability to apply modern AI approaches to solve real-world problems

• Machine learning experience with imagery or 3-D data
• Master’s degree or PhD in computer science, electrical or computer engineering, mechanical engineering, physics, or other science or engineering field
• Classical machine learning methods
• Experience with AWS, docker, Agile development
• Experience curating quality, real-world datasets for training deep learning models
• Proficiency in C++, MATLAB

• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to focus
• Regularly required to sit, use hands and fingers, operate computer keyboard and controls, and communicate verbally and in writing
• Must be physically able to commute to buildings
• Occasional exposure to dust, fumes and moderate levels of noise

We’re on a mission to unlock the potential of space to improve life on Earth, but that’s not an easy task. It takes hard work, determination, relentless innovation, teamwork, grit, and an unwavering commitment to achieving what others often deem impossible. Our people out-think, out-work and…