---
title: 'Robotics Software - Perception ML Engineer at Gritt Robotics Inc'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/robotics-software-perception-ml-engineer-gritt-robotics-inc-south-san-francisco-w5xbyz9ytr9c'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-16'
---

# Robotics Software - Perception ML Engineer at Gritt Robotics Inc

- **Company:** Gritt Robotics Inc
- **Location:** South San Francisco, CA
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-05-26
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-16
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/gritt/0c8c31da-118d-4b83-8228-be58203d5649/application

**Skills:** Python, PyTorch, Detection, Segmentation, Pose estimation, Tracking, 3D reconstruction, World models, VLMs, Synthetic data pipelines, Isaac Sim, Gazebo, Blender, Unity

> Join Gritt Robotics as an early team member to build and deploy perception ML systems for physical AI in outdoor construction environments. You will develop state-of-the-art models for manipulation and navigation, working with multimodal data and synthetic pipelines.

## Job description

[Gritt](https://www.gritt.ai/) is an intelligent system that combines robotics and AI to build the infrastructure that pulls society forward. Gritt deploys via simple attachments to common equipment found on construction sites and autonomously performs labor-intensive tasks, verification, and planning. Gritt systems are already building critical infrastructure in the harshest outdoor environments, starting with large-scale solar. The [founding team](https://www.gritt.ai/team) includes experts in robotics and AI from Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, and MIT. Gritt is backed by Obvious Ventures, Union Square Ventures, First Round Capital, Climactic, Congruent Ventures, and other leading firms.

Role: Robotics Software - Perception ML Location: SF Bay Area (in-person)

## About the role

We’re looking for an experienced Perception ML Engineer to join our team. As an early member, you will play a pivotal role in building and shaping the AI capabilities of our robots. You will work on challenging problems around manipulation and navigation in dynamic outdoor environments. You'll need to thrive in a fast-paced startup environment where you'll wear multiple hats and have a direct impact on our product's evolution. Ideally, you have a proven track record of developing and deploying perception ML systems in production, and you're passionate about pushing the boundaries of what's possible in robotics with AI.

## What you’ll get to work on

- Develop and deploy state-of-the-art perception models for challenging manipulation and navigation problems.
- Help drive our technical approach, with particular focus on real-world deployments.
- Research and develop techniques around 3D scene understanding, detection, segmentation, pose and world/video models.
- Develop robust metrics to establish performance of large vision models.
- Work with multimodal data (e.g. cameras, LIDAR, tactile).
- Develop and improve real/synthetic data pipelines for challenging perception problems.
- Build scalable training and validation infrastructure.
- Collaborate with other teams in the company.

## What we look for

- M.S/Ph.D degree in robotics, vision, computer science, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering or other engineering disciplines (or equivalent experience).
- 4+ years of hands-on experience developing perception solutions for robotics applications like manipulation and navigation.
- Experience working on one or more of detection, segmentation, pose estimation, tracking, 3D reconstruction, world models and VLMs.
- Experience working with synthetic data pipelines and robotics simulation infrastructure (e.g. Isaac Sim, Gazebo, Blender, Unity).
- Extensive experience with Python and common ML frameworks like PyTorch.
- Should be comfortable taking ownership of tasks with light supervision.
- Must have excellent problem-solving skills.
- Legally authorized to work in the United States.

## About Gritt Robotics Inc

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Gritt Robotics Inc builds physical AI systems that mount to existing construction hardware to automate labor-intensive tasks on infrastructure-scale job sites, starting with solar farm construction.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Seed/Grant Stage)
- **Headquarters**: New York, New York, United States
- **Founded**: 2023
- **Founders**: Puneet Puri (CEO), Vishal Dugar (Co-Founder), Anirudh Vemula (Head of AI)

## Core Business
- Primary industry: Construction robotics / Renewable energy infrastructure
- Target customers: Large-scale solar farm developers and general contractors in the energy infrastructure space
- Mission or purpose: To turn chaotic jobsites into automated production systems, making construction simple, fast, and predictable

## Products & Services
- **Gritt AI**: A physical AI platform that mounts to existing construction machinery (excavators, loaders, etc.) to automate pick-and-place, assembly, transport, and oversight tasks. Handles hundreds of SKUs of construction components and materials. Designed to work with a customer's current workforce, claiming a 4X productivity boost.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly available (private company)
- **Key Metric**: Total Funding of $500,000 (Grant from US Department of Energy, September 2024)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: US Department of Energy (grant provider, won Round 7 of the American-Made Solar Prize); Team has alumni from Aurora, Google, Tesla, and Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute
- **Growth Signals**: 200% headcount growth YoY (from ~3 to 13 employees); Won a multi-million dollar DOE competition (American-Made Solar Prize, chosen from 800+ startups); Named a Top U.S. Solar Innovator by the Department of Energy; Rapidly expanding from solar into other construction types

## Competitive Advantages
- **Deep technical moat**: Founded by AI and robotics experts from Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute, Stanford, and MIT, with prior experience building autonomous trucks, self-piloting aircraft, and inspection drones
- **Hardware-agnostic approach**: Mounts to proven, existing construction machinery rather than requiring new custom hardware, lowering adoption barriers
- **Data flywheel**: Spatial and operational data from deployments continuously improve the AI across environments and tasks
- **Early government validation**: DOE award provides both funding and credibility in the energy infrastructure space

## Strategic Focus
- Starting with solar farm construction (a massive, growing market driven by renewable energy mandates)
- Rapidly expanding into other types of infrastructure construction and additional steps in the construction process
- Growing the engineering team (multiple open roles in robotics, AI, perception, and mechanical engineering)
- Scaling from pilot deployments to broader commercial adoption

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-driven**: Directly addresses the global labor shortage in construction while accelerating renewable energy deployment
- **World-class team**: Work alongside experts from CMU Robotics Institute, Stanford, MIT, Aurora, Google X, and Tesla
- **Early-stage impact**: With only 13 employees, new hires will have outsized influence on product direction and company culture
- **Technical depth**: Heavily engineering-focused (53% of team is technical); strong emphasis on robotics, AI, perception, and mechanical engineering
- **Location**: New York City headquarters with a presence in India; likely hybrid/office given the hardware focus
- **Traction**: Backed by the US Department of Energy with a proven product that already delivers 4X productivity gains to customers

## Sources
1. [gritt.ai](https://gritt.ai/)
2. [gritt.ai/team](https://www.gritt.ai/team)
3. [linkedin.com/company/gritt-robotics](https://www.linkedin.com/company/gritt-robotics)
4. [jobs.ashbyhq.com/gritt](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/gritt)

## Other roles at Gritt Robotics Inc

- [Robotics Planning & Controls Engineer Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/robotics-planning-controls-engineer-intern-gritt-robotics-inc-south-san-tgc6efhwd7e0) — South San Francisco, CA
- [Senior Full Stack Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-full-stack-engineer-gritt-robotics-inc-south-san-francisco-ywtt1wjqpk59) — South San Francisco, CA
- [ML & Cloud Infrastructure Engineer Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/ml-cloud-infrastructure-engineer-intern-gritt-robotics-inc-south-san-francisco-pfv409fncn52) — South San Francisco, CA
- [Robot Learning Engineer Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/robot-learning-engineer-intern-gritt-robotics-inc-south-san-francisco-18rw18abwffy) — South San Francisco, CA
- [Robotics Perception Engineer Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/robotics-perception-engineer-intern-gritt-robotics-inc-south-san-francisco-4wdjdmg5cgk0) — South San Francisco, CA
- [Robotics Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/robotics-software-engineer-gritt-robotics-inc-india-aadkka7008t0) — India
- [Field Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/field-software-engineer-gritt-robotics-inc-south-san-francisco-nm25t6haqgg7) — South San Francisco, CA
- [Robotics System Test Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/robotics-system-test-engineer-gritt-robotics-inc-south-san-francisco-a5j2kzkkbze3) — South San Francisco, CA
- [ML Infrastructure Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/ml-infrastructure-engineer-gritt-robotics-inc-south-san-francisco-72acghccqmq7) — South San Francisco, CA
- [Robotics Software - Planning & Controls Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/robotics-software-planning-controls-engineer-gritt-robotics-inc-south-san-cvqk99kv4zf9) — South San Francisco, CA