Senior Research Engineer

Job description

COMPANY OVERVIEW Each year, 2.5 trillion hours are spent on household chores. At Matic, we’re on a mission to recapture that lost time, and we’re doing it by revolutionizing home robotics. Our first product, also called Matic, is a Wall-E-esque floor cleaning robot. We've built what amounts to "full self-driving in the home” with real-time 3D mapping, adaptive path-tracking, and a precise semantic understanding of the home. Our breakthroughs in spatial AI allow Matic to work reliably in real homes, using only RGB cameras and neural networks running on-device. PRIVACY FIRST What happens in the home, stays in the home. Our robots are private by design, with all data processing performed by the robot itself, not in the cloud. OUR APPROACH Before the iPhone, consumers adopted several distinct devices; cell phones, PDAs, and portable music players each served a particular need. We believe in a similar progression for home robotics, starting with single-purpose robots and building iteratively toward more complex capabilities over time. OUR CULTURE Matic is a tight-knit and collaborative team, singularly focused on building products our customers will cherish. We're ultra-hardworking people committed to solving tough problems that save precious time and energy. ABOUT THE ROLE We're seeking a Senior Research Engineer to lead cutting-edge perception research and drive our autonomous robotics platform forward. This is an opportunity to shape the technical direction of our perception stack while mentoring a growing team of engineers. The ideal candidate has a passion for solving problems and deploying those solutions to real, working products. We’re looking for detail-obsessed “idea machines”, able to push beyond the current state of the art to break new ground in robotic perception. What you'll do - Lead research initiatives to solve complex, open-ended perception problems for unstructured home environments - Architect and develop state-of-the-art computer vision algorithms that push beyond current industry capabilities - Design novel neural network architectures optimized for edge deployment and real-time performance - Pioneer advanced 3D geometry-based vision systems that enable precise spatial understanding - Build and scale robust machine learning infrastructure supporting large-scale training while ensuring reproducibility - Drive continuous improvement of algorithm accuracy, speed, and robustness through rigorous analysis and iteration - Lead the deployment of sophisticated ML pipelines on resource-constrained edge devices without performance degradation - Spearhead technical efforts toward achieving Level 5 autonomy in consumer robotics - Mentor junior engineers and collaborate cross-functionally with Hardware, Electrical, and Systems teams to realize ambitious product visions - Contribute to technical strategy and roadmap planning for perception capabilities What we look for - Advanced expertise in computer vision and machine learning with deep specialization in 3D perception, multi-class object detection, SLAM, and robotics controls - Proven track record of shipping production-grade research in real-world applications with measurable impact - Expert-level proficiency in Rust (or C++) and Python, with extensive experience in PyTorch and modern ML frameworks - Demonstrated ability to architect scalable, maintainable codebases and establish engineering best practices - Experience leading technical projects and mentoring engineering teams - Strong publication record or equivalent demonstration of technical leadership in relevant domains - Master's degree in computer science/engineering, electrical engineering, physics, or a related field; graduate degree work is a plus - 4+ years of experience working on applied problems in computer vision, machine learning, or robotics We'd love to hear from you if... - You love to ship and do great work - You thrive on solving technically challenging problems that haven't been solved before - You have a passion for translating cutting-edge research into practical, deployable solutions - You excel at technical leadership and enjoy elevating the capabilities of those around you - You're energized by the prospect of building foundational technology that will define the future of home robotics - You bring a first-principles approach to problem-solving and aren't satisfied with incremental improvements Compensation Base $160,000 — $240,000 Actual Compensation will depend on skills, experience and qualifications. Base Salary is one part of the total compensation package. The role is also eligible for equity through the company’s discretionary equity program, along with a comprehensive benefits package that includes medical, dental and vision coverage access to a 401(k) plan.