Sensor Verification & Characterization Engineer (LiDAR)

Job description

Job responsibilities

• Design and execute verification and characterization tests for full sensor systems and subsystems, ensuring designs meet performance requirements and building a clear picture of system behavior across operating…
• Plan and run rapid derisk experiments for new technologies and subsystems to inform specifications and architecture decisions, often before formal requirements exist.
• Correlate measurements against simulation and analytical models, feeding results back to design and modeling teams to improve predictive accuracy.
• Troubleshoot and debug system-level and subsystem-level issues, applying strong systems-engineering and first-principles physics reasoning to isolate root cause.
• Generate clear test reports and well-formed hypotheses to share findings and drive decisions with the broader engineering team, including recommendations on specification limits and design tradeoffs.
• Build, maintain, and automate test benches and lab equipment to support repeatable, efficient verification.
• Adapt quickly to changing requirements, shifting priorities, and new problems as our programs evolve.
• Bring creativity to solving design challenges under real-world constraints.

Job requirements

• BS in Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related field (MS or PhD a plus).
• 4+ years of hands-on experience in system or sensor test, verification, characterization, or early-stage technology derisking - though we're open to exceptional candidates at other experience levels who show strong…
• Hands-on experience with lab equipment (oscilloscopes, power supplies, function generators, spectrum analyzers, logic analyzers) and demonstrated experience automating test equipment.
• Proficiency in Python for test automation and data analysis.
• Experience designing experiments under uncertainty: choosing what to measure, estimating measurement uncertainty, and drawing defensible conclusions from limited data.
• Strong systems-level thinking and the ability to apply physics and engineering fundamentals to debug complex, ambiguous problems.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills — able to turn raw data and observations into clear reports and actionable hypotheses.
• A self-starter who can thrive with minimal formal process, and is comfortable defining and communicating structure where it doesn't yet exist.