The Sensor Systems Engineer will shape a critical part of the Tangram Vision Platform: our one-of-a-kind plug-and-play perception sensor module, TVMux. If you’ve ever struggled to stream a sensor array in concert and thought “There has to be a better way!”... Tangram Vision’s TVMux is that better way! TVMux’s goals are both lofty and numerous. We’ve already executed on a few of these, but there are plenty left for a passionate perception engineer. Among the features that have been completed, and that we intend to complete:

Plug-and-play operation for multi-sensor systems: Plug any sensor in and it starts streaming immediately; unplug a sensor and it stops streaming without crashing the rest of the system. Intuitive interfaces with popular robotics packages like ROS and ROS2. Clear and concise software API for easy integration of TVMux into third-party systems. Deployment on a multitude of platforms (compliments of TVMux’s foundations in Rust!) This isn’t a pipe dream: TVMux already does all of the above for Intel RealSense sensors (one of the most finicky sensor lines in perception). You can see it in action here.

However, for TVMux to be truly useful, it needs to support more sensors, become easier to use, and offer even greater performance. Candidates for Sensor Systems should embrace these elements; getting them right will save years of time and frustration for perception engineers everywhere.

Starting Salary Range: $130,000 - $160,000 USD

Examples of Things You’ll Work On...

Profile performance (latency, throughput) of different sensor modalities (e.g. LiDAR, camera, etc.) via TVMux on a variety of hardware platforms. Encapsulate (or rewrite!) vendor-specific drivers in asynchronous (async) Rust to ensure safe and predictable performance. See Realsense-Rust for an example of how we made this unruly sensor line safe. Work with customers to integrate and test their systems via TVMux Integrate TVMux with other platform modules for end-to-end onboard perception capabilities Write and contribute to our internal and user-facing product documentation Contribute to the Tangram Visions blog with relevant, technical content for a robotics and sensor savvy audience Craft and maintain an up-to-date User Manual. User Manuals are documents written by you, about you. They're meant to be easy ways for someone else to get to know you and your working style, so that everyone can better understand one another and collaborate more effectively. Communicate and check-in with each other. Every proposal, piece of documentation, and prototype is meant to be open, malleable, and collaborative. This lets us do our best work while preserving the best aspects of asynchronous work - focus and time. Even so, live communications are encouraged even if its just to check in on someone’s day. Do your part in keeping our operations running smoothly - submitting PTO requests, observing travel budgets, etc. Be open to networking/speaker opportunities on behalf of the company. Presentations at local meetups Communications inside and outside of Tangram on progress and projects You’ll be a successful candidate if...

You love performant systems languages, or are excited to learn and apply Rust in a real-world setting You have worked with sensor drivers at all levels of the stack, and know how to debug hardware as part of a "black-box" environment You aren’t afraid to deep-dive into vendor-produced driver code to understand the nuances of sensor behavior You are skeptical of spec sheets You take the time to evaluate technology options and tradeoffs, and feel certain in your decision-making after evaluation You care about contributing to product direction, planning, roadmaps, and postmortems You have a willingness to voice your opinions, and have pushed to make hardware more stable and reliable at your previous place of work or study You have strong verbal and written communications skills - you’re able to explain big ideas without technical jargon You have exceptional time management, including the ability to manage multiple tasks and projects at once You love to learn and can implement what you’ve absorbed, whether it’s through reading textbooks and/or research papers You have a strong sense of teamwork - you enjoy building positive relationships with colleagues and stakeholders, and a willingness to help others You believe in inclusivity when working with colleagues with different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives Must-Have Technical Qualifications...

In our experience, people with the below experiences would thrive in this role. Our tech stack is shown in parentheses, where applicable; experience with a specific tool is not required for this role.

Rust background, with familiarity in async-Rust. Experience developing concurrent and / or asynchronous pipelines. A systems engineering background Experience working with common sensor communication protocols and interfaces (e.g. USB, ethernet, MIPI) Experience working with sensor drivers and software provided by sensor manufacturers (e.g. Intel, Velodyne) Familiar with data flow paradigms within robotics or AV/ADAS systems (e.g. pub-sub networks, RPC / IPC, etc.) Demonstrated experience with common profiling strategies for latency, throughput, etc. of a system delivering high levels of IO Demonstrated experience with common sensor data types, e.g. image formats, point clouds, gyroscopic data, etc. Comfortable working on Linux and using the command-line Proficiency with git Benefits and other Perks...

We’re a startup, aren't there supposed to be pool tables and stuff? We have an ever-growing list of items that we’re looking to provide, here’s what we currently offer.

We value your health and well-being: Tangram Vision covers up to $400 a month of medical plan costs (chances are we have a plan that will be 100% covered for you), and 100% of dental, vision, and ancillary plans (i.e. life insurance, short-term and long-term disability). Employees who choose a medical plan with a health savings account (HSA) also receive a $2,000/year HSA contribution Staff have an unlimited PTO balance, with a recommended 4 weeks off per year (1 week per quarter). Remote First, Fully Connected: Tangram Vision is a fully remote company. We have no corporate office, and our first five employees span four time zones! Company retreats every three to four months in fun, unique locations. Weekly team-wide calls keep us connected and grounded Open virtual co-working communications every afternoon We understand the importance of financial planning: We offer competitive salaries and equity grants. Employees can choose to adjust their compensation for more/less salary vs. more/less equity.

How to Apply...

Submit your resume and cover letter In your cover letter please include how you heard about this role and why you’re interested in this position No phone calls please. Tangram Vision will contact qualified candidates directly.

Interview Process:

For this role, the interview process will consist of the steps listed below. The first four steps will be conducted over video calls using Google Meet.

Phone screen (20 minutes): We learn more about you and your experiences, and we take time to share more about us, Tangram Vision. Technical video interview (1 hour): We learn more about your technical knowledge and cover concepts that are important for this role. Hands-on coding problem (2 hours): We provide a problem and you write the code to solve it! You use your own computer/IDE/environment and can choose from 2-3 different programming languages. We'll be available for the duration to answer any questions you may have. Final Interview (1 hour): We meet with finalists to learn more about your work style and what you're looking for in your next role, team, and leadership. Reference check: You send us work references and we talk to them.