ML Data Engineer (m/f/d) - Sensor Data & Pipelines

What we offer

• Work in an international, agile team creating the future of autonomous systems
• Grow your career in a expanding and ambitious engineering team
• Build innovative products using state-of-the-art technologies in AI, robotics, and autonomy
• Benefit from a steep learning curve and continuous development
• Enjoy team events and a strong, collaborative culture

Your mission

This role sits at the core of our perception systems, owning the data that directly drives model performance in real-world environments. You will work closely with ML, perception, and robotics teams, focusing on building, curating, and continuously improving datasets behind object detection — turning raw sensor data into reliable, high-performing systems.

You will take end-to-end ownership of the ML data lifecycle, from data collection and ingestion to labeling, quality assurance, and continuous dataset improvement, ensuring data is representative, high-quality, and production-ready.

What you'll do:

• Design and maintain scalable pipelines to ingest, organize, and preprocess large volumes of time-series camera and multi-sensor data (RGB, IR, thermal, depth, IMU)
• Own and continuously improve object detection datasets, ensuring quality, diversity, and statistical representativeness
• Build and operate active learning loops, connecting model performance with data selection and improvement
• Manage labeling workflows end-to-end, including tooling, QA validation, consistency checks, and coordination of annotation efforts
• Collaborate with ML Engineers to evaluate models and translate weaknesses, bias, and drift into actionable dataset improvements
• Plan and execute data collection campaigns (e.g. field recordings, drone/video capture) to acquire high-value real-world data
• Create internal tools and dashboards to analyze dataset quality, distributions, and performance gaps

Your profile

• Strong experience in Python and data processing frameworks (Pandas, NumPy, vectorized operations, multiprocessing).
• Hands-on experience building ETL/ELT pipelines for ingesting, transforming, and structuring large video and sensor datasets.
• Experience with data orchestration and lifecycle management for ML and computer vision workflows, including dataset versioning and reproducibility.
• Solid understanding of object detection pipelines (Detectron2, MMDetection, COCO format, bounding-box standards).
• Experience with active learning, uncertainty sampling, or semi-supervised dataset workflows.
• Familiarity with data annotation platforms (CVAT, Label Studio) and automated QA/consistency checks.
• Strong grasp of evaluation metrics for object detection (IoU, mAP, precision-recall curves, class-wise metrics).
• Comfortable with databases (SQL/NoSQL), file systems, and the management of large-scale image, video, and sensor datasets.
• Ability to work cross-functionally with perception, deployment, robotics, and data infrastructure teams.
• Fluent in English, German and/or French are a plus

Nice to have

• Experience with cloud storage and MLOps tools (AWS S3, MinIO, ClearML, MLFlow, Weights & Biases).
• Familiarity with ROS / robotics data formats (bag files, TF trees, sensor_msgs), Docker, or embedded ML workflows.
• Prior work with robotics, drones, or multi-sensor perception systems, including IR, LiDAR, radar, or audio datasets.

What else

• Outside-the-box creativity with a blend of conceptual and systematic design thinking.
• High intrinsic motivation, attention to detail, and strong problem-solving mindset.
• Structured, methodical, and reliable execution, even under uncertainty.
• Humble, collaborative, and mission-driven — values collective success over ego.
• High ethical standards and disciplined work ethic.
• Extra-curricular achievements, leadership, or unique projects are a plus.
• NATO-aligned nationality or close ally citizenship is required.

Why us?

Join us to shape the future of AI-driven defense!

About us

The world is changing. Exponential technologies are enabling new types of security threats. ATS is committed to staying ahead by building nimble, scalable, and cost-effective defences. We are looking for passionate team members who are eager to create exceptional products, safeguard our freedom, and strengthen the resilience of democracies.

Who we are: Autonomous Teaming is a defence-tech start-up specializing in machine vision solutions. Driven by cutting-edge innovation, our team works on next-generation technologies designed to meet rapidly evolving security challenges.

What we do: We develop systems that enable computers and sensors to operate as coordinated teams, collaborating in real time to counter AI-powered asymmetric threats at scale — including drone swarms and other UXVs. Our mission is to build resilient, intelligent defence capabilities that perform reliably in the most demanding environments.

How we work: We value close, in-person collaboration as the foundation for building complex, high-impact technology, while maintaining flexibility aligned to role and team needs. Our culture is built on ownership, responsibility, and trust — with a shared commitment to growing and building together.

Where we are: Based in Munich, Berlin, and Toulouse, we are expanding rapidly across Europe with plans to open additional office hubs.