Staff LiDAR System Engineer

Job Summary

We are seeking a Staff LiDAR System Engineer to lead system-level architecture, performance optimization, validation, and application development for our LiDAR products.

This individual will work closely with optical, electrical, mechanical, firmware, software, algorithm, product, and field application teams. The ideal candidate has broad technical expertise across complex sensing systems and can translate product and customer requirements into system architecture, engineering specifications, validation plans, and practical application solutions.

The candidate should be capable of leading LiDAR system architecture activities and/or developing application software, tools, and prototypes that demonstrate and extend the capabilities of our LiDAR products.

How will you make an impact? 

• Lead or contribute to LiDAR system architecture, including requirements definition, subsystem interfaces, performance budgets, operating modes, and key technical trade-offs.
• Translate product and application requirements into measurable system specifications and engineering validation plans.
• Become a system-level expert on our LiDAR products and optimize their performance for automotive, robotics, industrial, infrastructure, and other applications.
• Perform system-level analysis covering detection range, point-cloud quality, accuracy, precision, resolution, field of view, reflectivity, crosstalk, interference, environmental robustness, thermal performance, and system reliability.
• Lead cross-functional technical investigations and root-cause analysis involving optics, electronics, firmware, software, algorithms, calibration, manufacturing, and mechanical design.
• Design and execute experiments, collect and analyze data, and validate LiDAR performance under a wide range of operating and environmental conditions.
• Experience developing application software, engineering tools, data-processing pipelines, visualization tools, or proof-of-concept applications using LiDAR data would be a significant plus.
• Experience developing and evaluating LiDAR integration solutions involving cameras, IMUs, GNSS, radar, computing platforms, or other sensors would be a significant plus. 
• Collaborate with product and field application teams to understand customer use cases, identify technical gaps, and influence product features and roadmap decisions.
• Support strategic customer engagements, technical demonstrations, workshops, and proof-of-concept projects when deep system-level expertise is required.
• Create clear technical documentation, including system requirements, architecture descriptions, interface specifications, test plans, analysis reports, application notes, and integration guides.
  

What Qualifications and Skills Will Help You Succeed?

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, Optics, Robotics, or a related discipline with at least 8 years of relevant experience; a Master’s degree with at least 6 years of experience; or a PhD with at least 3 years of experience.
• Significant experience with LiDAR, radar, cameras, imaging systems, robotics sensors, or other complex electro-optical sensing systems.
• Broad understanding of optics, electronics, firmware, embedded systems, software, signal processing, calibration, algorithms, mechanical design, and manufacturing considerations.
• Experience developing sensor applications, engineering tools, automated test software, data-processing pipelines, or proof-of-concept systems.
• Experience with point-cloud processing, signal processing, image processing, sensor calibration, object detection, sensor fusion, or perception algorithms.
• Familiarity with Linux, Git, networking, APIs, SDKs, and software development workflows.
• Experience with ROS or ROS 2, Open3D, PCL, OpenCV, or similar robotics and visualization frameworks is preferred.
• Strong understanding of statistics, mathematics, experimental design, and data-driven engineering analysis.
• Hands-on experience building, integrating, testing, and troubleshooting optical, electrical, or robotic systems.
• Ability to lead complex technical investigations involving multiple engineering disciplines.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain complex technical topics to engineering teams, customers, and business stakeholders.
• Ability to work independently, manage multiple fast-paced projects, and provide technical leadership in a cross-functional environment.

What core values will you add at Seyond?

• Emerging: We embrace the challenges with the opportunities as we shape our future together.
• Dynamic: It is the combination of each member’s energy, innovative spirit, open-mindedness, creativity, and unique experience that give us our dynamic edge. 
• Genuine: We keep it real – be it with our customers, our partners, or each other. We are dedicated to being honest and collaborative in all that we do. ​
• Excellence: We continuously strive for higher performance, higher quality, higher precision, and higher safety. ​

Where is this role located?
This role is located in Sunnyvale, CA. Candidate must live in/near Sunnyvale, CA.

What are the benefits and perks of working at Seyond?
You will be supported with a competitive and comprehensive benefits package. Below are some highlights:

• A variety of health insurance plans
• 401(k) retirement plan
• Paid time off
• Paid parental leave
• Wellness reimbursement
• Financial contributions to your ongoing development (conference participation, training etc.)

What is the Pay Range?

$160,000-$250,000 
The above pay scale reflects the broad, minimum to maximum, annual base salary for this job code for the location for which it has been posted. Even more importantly, please note that salary is only one component of total compensation at Seyond. You may also be eligible for the sales incentive plan and equity. In addition, our highly competitive benefits package is designed to support your success.

Seyond, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), gender identity, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, physical or mental disability, legally protected medical condition, family care status, military or veteran status, marital status, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, or any other basis protected by local, state, or federal laws.
Employment at Seyond is contingent upon proof of your legal right to work in the United States under applicable law, verification of satisfactory references and successful completion of a background check, and signing all your on-boarding documents.
Seyond takes data privacy and identity theft very seriously. As such, we do not request personally-identifiable information (PII) from applicants over the internet or electronically. Please kindly refrain from disclosing your PII electronically during the application process or to unauthorized websites that may purport to be Seyond or any of our affiliates.