Data Collection Engineer - Sensors

Teradar is pioneering a new era in perception with the world's first automotive terahertz vision sensor, delivering ultra-high resolution imaging in any weather condition. Founded in Boston, Teradar's solid-state, chip-scale technology unlocks safer, smarter vehicles and opens the door to transformative applications in mobility, defense, and beyond.

We are looking for a Data Collection Engineer embedded within the software development team to own the end-to-end process of capturing, validating, and analyzing sensor data - both on controlled test ranges and on-vehicle in real driving conditions.

You will operate in a tight feedback loop with firmware, DSP, and platform software engineers, turning raw sensor data into actionable insights that directly drive development iterations. You will ensure that our sensor data can be correlated with reference sensors (lidar, radar, camera) and that it meets performance requirements at every stage of the development cycle.

Responsibilities

• Plan and execute data collection campaigns on test ranges and on-vehicle, covering diverse weather, lighting, and scenario conditions.
• Set up, configure, and operate the Teradar sensor alongside reference sensors (lidar, radar, camera) on test vehicles and range fixtures.
• Develop and maintain data acquisition pipelines - triggering, time-sync, logging, and transfer of multi-sensor data streams.
• Perform first-level data quality checks: completeness, synchronization integrity, and basic sanity analysis on collected datasets.
• Run and extend verification scripts that compare our sensor output against reference sensor ground truth and requirement thresholds.
• Analyze sensor performance metrics (resolution, range, detection rate, false-alarm rate) and surface findings to the development team for rapid iteration.
• Manage data storage, cataloging, and traceability so that every collection run is reproducible and searchable.
• Collaborate daily with firmware and DSP engineers to reproduce issues, collect targeted datasets for debugging, and validate fixes in the field.
• Maintain and troubleshoot sensor mounting, cabling, power, and communication interfaces on test vehicles.
• Contribute to the definition and refinement of sensor performance requirements based on field observations.

• Experience in sensor data collection, integration, or test in automotive, robotics, or defense domains.
• Hands-on experience mounting, wiring, and operating automotive sensors (lidar, radar, or camera) on test vehicles.
• Proficiency in Python for scripting data processing pipelines, analysis, and automated verification checks.
• Familiarity with time synchronization methods (PTP/gPTP, NTP, hardware triggers) across multi-sensor setups.
• Working knowledge of automotive data buses (CAN, Automotive Ethernet) for logging vehicle and sensor state data.
• Strong data organization skills - ability to manage large datasets, maintain collection logs, and ensure traceability.
• Willingness to work outdoors in varying weather conditions and travel to test ranges as needed.

Nice to have

• Experience with lidar point-cloud tools or radar data analysis.
• Familiarity with ROS or similar middleware for sensor data recording and playback.
• Exposure to automotive data logging tools (Vector CANape, ETAS INCA, dSPACE).
• Basic understanding of radar, lidar or imaging system fundamentals.
• Experience writing requirements-based verification scripts or test automation frameworks.
• SQL or similar for querying structured metadata from collection databases.