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Senior Algorithm Engineer II (EO/IR Image Analysis) Verified today

Rocket Lab · Tucson, AZ · Payload · first seen 2026-09-17
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About Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab is an end-to-end space company building rockets, spacecraft, and critical subsystems. The Space Systems division builds complete spacecraft and precision payloads including solar panels, flight software, star trackers, optical systems, and radios.

The Role

As a Senior Algorithm Engineer II for Rocket Lab Optical Systems in Tucson, AZ, you will support Tranche 3 of the U.S. Space Development Agency's Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) by building deep learning neural networks for advanced Electro-Optical (EO/IR) image processing.

What You'll Do

  • Develop computer vision algorithms and deep neural networks for image and video processing chains
  • Collaborate with researchers and engineers on artificial intelligence, machine learning, and computer vision
  • Work with physics-based image simulation frameworks to scale training and validation data
  • Design, train, and deploy machine learning models for Optical Systems applications
  • Perform rapid prototyping and enhanced development to be integrated into operational systems
  • Troubleshoot, debug, and maintain existing and new systems
  • Stay current with ML research and evaluate new tools, frameworks, and techniques

Required Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree with 8+ years of experience, Master's degree with 5+ years of experience, or Ph.D. with 2+ years of experience in physics, optical sciences, computer science, mathematics, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, or related technical discipline with demonstrated experience in image processing or EO/IR systems
  • Strong background in math and fundamentals of machine learning including model selection, architecting, training, validation, testing, and deployment
  • Experience building deep learning neural networks (e.g., CNN) for computer vision, image processing, or analyses such as object detection, image segmentation, and tracking
  • Strong math background, particularly linear algebra and optimization theory
  • Proficiency in Python
  • Experience with deep learning libraries such as Keras, TensorFlow, or PyTorch
  • Software engineering fundamentals: version control, testing, CI/CD, containerization
  • U.S. citizenship required due to program requirements
  • Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Security Clearance

Nice to Have

  • Proficiency in C/C++/Rust
  • Experience curating quality, real-world datasets for training deep learning models
  • TS/SCI security clearance

Working Conditions

This position may require prolonged periods of sitting, standing, walking, computer work, and occasional exposure to moderate levels of noise, dust, and fumes in production areas.