Knightscope
Principal Engineer
Sunnyvale, California · Principal · Full-time
Sponsorship not specified$180k-$230kDetected 38 days ago
Distributed SystemsAWSGrafanaRESTKafkaMachine LearningData EngineeringIncident ResponseRoadmappingPRDsHubSpotRoboticsSensorsVoIPZero TrustResearchLeadershipCommunicationCollaborationNetSuite
About the role
- You will define how multi-sensor data streams (video, audio, LiDAR, telemetry) are ingested, fused, and surfaced across role-based dashboards, real-time 3D digital twins, and AI-powered alerting workflows.
- Architect the real-time 3D Digital Twin layer, including sensor fusion, spatial overlay, occlusion handling, AI-driven positional prediction, and event-linked playback.
- Define integration architecture for all internal tools (KNOC, Deployment, Service, Calibration, Grafana, Simulations) and external systems (Milestone VMS, Axis Communications, HubSpot, NetSuite, Palantir FedStart).
Responsibilities
- Platform Architecture & Design
- Own and evolve the end-to-end system architecture for the Signals platform, including its microservices, real-time data pipelines, APIs, and front-end integration layer.
- Design and document scalable, secure architecture patterns for multi-sensor data ingestion (video, audio, LiDAR, thermal, telemetry) from K1, K5, K7 robots and third-party devices.
- Establish data flow design for the AI/ML autonomy layer, including anomaly detection, threat prediction, automated machine coordination, and RTX analyst decision-support pipelines.
- Lead architecture reviews, design sessions, and technical decision-making across the Signals engineering team.
- Partner with the Senior Director of Software Engineering and the Cybersecurity Program Manager to align architecture with the Product Requirements Document and Statement of Requirements.
- Mentor and guide engineers on system design principles, distributed systems patterns, and best practices for real-time streaming, edge AI, and GovCloud environments.
- Drive technical roadmap planning, identifying risks, dependencies, and sequencing across the platform's build phases.
- Evaluate build-vs-buy-vs-integrate tradeoffs for platform components including video analytics, AI inference, digital twin engines, and alerting infrastructure.
Requirements
- Experience integrating video management systems (VMS), camera APIs (e.g., Axis, Milestone), or physical security systems.
- Strong understanding of AI/ML inference pipelines, edge computing, and sensor fusion architectures.
- Experience designing RBAC systems, secure API gateways, and zero-trust security patterns.
- Familiarity with 3D spatial data, digital twin platforms, LiDAR point cloud processing, or geospatial systems.
Nice to have
- Familiarity with robotics middleware platforms (e.g., ROS2, Autoware) is a plus.
- Background in physical security, PSIM/VMS platforms, or autonomous systems.
- Familiarity with CMMC, DoD IL5, or other defense-grade compliance frameworks.
- Prior experience leading architecture in a scale-up or growth-stage technology company.
- RTX Analyst, KNOC Specialist, CX Analyst, Deployment Engineer, Service Analyst, Engineering, Admin, and Executive.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration
- 8+ years of software engineering experience, with at least 4 years in a systems architecture or principal/staff engineering role.
- Proven experience architecting large-scale, real-time distributed platforms - ideally in defense, public safety, robotics, IoT, or enterprise security domains.
Compensation
- $180,000 - $230,000 (DOE)
Benefits
- Medical, dental, vision, 401(k), paid time off
- Equity: Stock options
Company info
- About Knightscope
- Knightscope is a security technology company building the Nation's First Autonomous Security Force.
- The Company combines autonomous machines, advanced software, and human expertise to help protect people, property, and critical infrastructure.
- Knightscope's long-term mission is to make the United States of America the safest country in the world
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This listing is sourced directly from Knightscope's careers page and normalized into a canonical job model.