Director of AI Robotics

Janicki Industries is an innovative, family-owned aerospace company located at the foot of the Cascades. We focus on engineering and manufacturing complex projects for companies in the aerospace, defense, and space industries. We are looking for a Director of AI Robotics to join our growing team.

POSITION DESCRIPTION

This position is located on-site in Bellingham, Washington State.

Janicki Industries is seeking a Director of AI Robotics to drive the day-to-day delivery of our AI perception engineering roadmap. Reporting to the Head of AI R&D, this seasoned technical leader translates research direction and strategy into executed work running the team's sprint and project cadence, staying hands-on with architecture and code, unblocking engineers on hard technical problems, and ensuring perception systems make it reliably from prototype into production. This role supports delivery of 3D object detection, six-degree-of-freedom pose estimation, and multi-sensor perception pipelines (RGB cameras, depth cameras, LIDAR) using frameworks such as NVIDIA Isaac Perceptor, FoundationPose, and OpenCV, across a wide range of factory objects from standard pallets to one-of-a-kind composite tooling.

The following essential job functions are performed as an Director of AI Robotics:

• Own day-to-day execution of the AI perception roadmap, translating priorities set by the Head of AI R&D into project plans, milestones, and sprint-level execution.
• Provide hands-on technical leadership across model development, sensor integration, and deployment of 3D detection and pose estimation systems.
• Directly review code, architecture, and technical designs; step in to unblock engineers on complex technical problems.
• Manage day-to-day workload, task assignment, and technical mentorship for AI Engineers on the team.
• Drive delivery of perception pipelines integrating camera and LIDAR sensors into production-ready systems.
• Own testing, validation, and monitoring practices to ensure perception accuracy and reliability in production.
• Coordinate execution with navigation, controls, and manufacturing engineering teams to keep integration work on schedule.
• Track and report progress, blockers, technical risks, and resourcing needs to the Head of AI R&D.
• Participate in technical hiring, interviewing, and onboarding of AI Engineers.
• Being at work on time and maintaining good attendance is a condition of employment and is an essential function of the job.
• All other duties as assigned

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, or closely related field.
• 10+ years of software/AI engineering experience, including seasoned, hands-on technical leadership shipping production systems.
• Demonstrated experience running execution and delivery for a technical engineering team (sprint/project leadership, direct reports, or equivalent).
• Willingness and ability to work on-site full-time at our Bellingham, WA facility.
• Due to our ITAR and EAR regulations, applicants must be a US Citizen or of Legal Permanent Resident Status as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b (a) (3)
• This position requires the ability to obtain a U.S. Secret Security Clearance (U.S. Citizenship Required). Janicki will assist with gaining this access once employed. Special Access Program or other Government Access Requirements are mandatory for this position and requires candidate agreed to enter a Continuous Evaluation program

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Master’s or Ph.D. in Computer Vision, Robotics, Computer Science, or related field.
• Deep hands-on experience with deep learning-based object detection and pose estimation (YOLO, PointNet, FoundationPose, etc.).
• Experience with 3D point cloud processing (PCL, Open3D) and depth sensors.
• Experience with NVIDIA perception tools (Isaac Perceptor, TAO Toolkit, DeepStream, Jetson).
• Strong programming proficiency in Python and/or C++ in Linux environments.
• Experience with deep learning frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow).
• Familiarity with ROS/ROS 2 perception pipelines.
• Experience with camera calibration, multi-sensor alignment, and sensor fusion.
• Experience generating synthetic training data using simulation tools (Isaac Sim, Omniverse).
• Background in industrial inspection, manufacturing vision systems, or factory automation.
• Experience working with large, irregularly shaped objects rather than small consumer products.
• Experience running Agile/Scrum or similar delivery processes for engineering teams.
• Experience operating within ITAR/EAR-regulated or cleared program environments.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• Salary range for this role is between $200,000 - $275,000, plus discretionary bonus, 401(k) matching, vacation, and health benefits. Employees can also receive additional pay for off shifts. The range provided is Janicki’s estimate of the base compensation for this role. Actual amount offered will be based on job-related and non-discriminatory factors such as experience, location, education, training, skills, and abilities
• By applying for this job, you are expressing interest in this position and could be considered for other career opportunities where similar skills and requirements have been identified as a match. Should this match be identified, you may be contacted for this and future openings

BENEFITS

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance with employer contribution
• Disability insurance as well as Life/AD&D insurance
• HSA (Health Savings Account) with employer contribution and FSA (Flexible Savings Account)
• 401k with employer matching
• Paid time off and paid holidays (including two floating holidays)
• Education reimbursement program
• Several shift options
• Premium pay for off shifts

Not sure that you’ll be the perfect fit for this role? You should still apply! We’ll review your application for other opportunities. We are always on the lookout for talented people!

Janicki Industries is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Janicki Industries does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, marital or familial status, physical or mental disability, genetic information, age, retaliation, veteran/military service status, or any other legally protected status. Janicki is proud to be a military friendly employer.

Applicants or employees wishing to view a copy of Janicki Industries’ Affirmative Action Plan for veterans and individuals with disabilities, or applicants requiring reasonable accommodation to the application/interview process should notify the Human Resources Department at (360) 404-1997.

As a federal government contractor and a recipient of federal funding, Janicki is required to abide by federal drug testing requirements (including preemployment drug testing for cannabis). Additionally, because of Janicki’s work on aerospace products and the high volume of safety sensitive positions, Janicki takes the safety of its employees very seriously and requires that employees pass a preemployment drug test prior to starting employment.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights (https://www.eeoc.gov/poster) notice from the Department of Labor.