Robotics Engineer - Autonomous Drone System

Meta is seeking a System Engineer to join our Infra Robotics team. This team implements advanced robotics technologies to enable efficient and safe data center operations. The Drone Inspection & Data Integration Engineer is responsible for integrating autonomous drone platforms and inspection data workflows into Meta’s facility operations. This includes solution architecture, requirements gathering, system integration, verification and validation, concept of operation (ConOps) development, field pilots, product release (including site acceptance testing), and post-release support. The role involves close collaboration with software, hardware, Facility Operations partners, and infrastructure stakeholders to enable automated inspections—from autonomous flight and sensor data capture to processing, analytics, and workflow integration. The ideal candidate has hands-on experience with autonomous drones, perception/navigation (SLAM, VIO, LiDAR/vision fusion), inspection workflows, and data pipelines for processing imagery, telemetry, or 3D mapping. Experience with drone operations, flight testing, inspection automation, and enterprise data integration is expected. Demonstrated experience in robotics technologies—including sensing, planning, navigation, and data processing—and the ability to troubleshoot across hardware and software is preferred. You will collaborate with and influence internal stakeholders, including cross-functional teams and individuals at all levels. This is a full-time position based in Fremont, CA, or a Meta NA data-center site, with domestic and international travel required.

Responsibilities

• Partner with Facility Operations, infrastructure, and robotics teams to understand inspection workflows, operational requirements, and opportunities to automate inspections with autonomous drone systems
• Translate inspection, data-collection, and autonomy needs into product requirements and technical specifications, identifying tradeoffs across sensing, navigation, platform capability, and operational constraints
• Develop drone-based inspection capabilities, including autonomous navigation, mission execution, sensor/payload operation, and structured capture of imagery, video, telemetry, and mapping data
• Collect and analyze inspection workflows—including mission patterns, environmental conditions, safety constraints, and data-quality needs—to inform autonomy, sensing, and data-integration design
• Support the design and integration of data pipelines for ingestion, normalization, processing, labeling, analytics, and routing results into Facility Operations systems
• Participate in architecture and design reviews to surface gaps in autonomy stack behavior, sensing performance, data flow, safety considerations, or system integration
• Build and test prototypes to validate navigation robustness, perception accuracy, and data-quality metrics in representative facility environments
• Develop and execute test plans for autonomous inspection workflows, covering functional behavior, environmental robustness, edge cases, and data-quality verification
• Perform root-cause analysis for navigation drift, perception faults, data inconsistencies, mission failures, or integration issues with internal tools
• Support field pilots, site acceptance testing, operational workflow definition, and post-release improvements for drone inspection systems
• Contribute to product and technology roadmaps for autonomous inspection, sensing improvements, and data-integration enhancements
• Engage with drone vendors, autonomy providers, and data-platform partners to evaluate new capabilities and industry trends
• Visit data center sites for flight tests, data-collection exercises, system evaluations, and collaboration with local subject matter experts
• This role requires effective communication, leadership, interpersonal, organizational, engineering, program management, and analytical skills

Minimum Qualifications

• BS in Engineering (Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical, Mechanical, Aerospace, or equivalent)
• 10+ years of experience in robotics, autonomous drones, inspection automation, or related mechatronic systems, including 3+ years of hands-on experience with drone perception or autonomy systems (e.g., SLAM, VIO, LiDAR/vision fusion, obstacle avoidance, localization)
• Experience with drone operations and flight testing, including mission execution, payload operation, and flight-safety practices
• Experience with the BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) permitting process for drone operations, including preparing and submitting flight requests, ensuring compliance with aviation regulations, and coordinating with internal and external stakeholders to secure necessary approvals. Familiarity with risk mitigation, pilot certification, and insurance requirements for BVLOS operations is essential
• Experience capturing and processing structured inspection data (imagery, video, telemetry, mapping, or environmental sensing)
• Familiarity with data-pipeline workflows such as ingestion, ETL, labeling, storage, indexing, or analytics
• Experience integrating hardware, autonomy software, and sensing systems into a cohesive robotic or drone platform
• Familiarity with QA/QC testing, validation, and verification for autonomy systems or data pipelines
• Effective communication and leadership skills, able to collaborate across cross-functional engineering and operations teams
• Proficiency in at least one higher-level programming language (e.g., Python, C++, or similar) for automation, data handling, or prototyping
• Effective troubleshooting skills across autonomy behavior, perception failures, data inconsistencies, and system-integration issues
• Ability to interpret inspection workflows, asset requirements, or operational constraints to inform engineering decisions
• Ability to travel up to 30% domestically and internationally to Meta data centers and test locations

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s in a relevant field
• Experience with indoor or GPS-denied drone navigation, including SLAM/VIO tuning and sensor calibration
• Hands-on experience with drone fleet management, mission orchestration, or remote operations tools
• Familiarity with cloud or edge-based data pipelines, including data ingestion, indexing, and analytics workflows
• Experience with ROS/ROS2 or similar robotics middleware for integrating autonomy, sensing, and mission-control software
• Knowledge of multi-modal sensing (LiDAR, depth, stereo, thermal/IR) for inspection and mapping tasks
• Experience developing or supporting inspection analytics, anomaly detection, or automated defect-classification workflows
• Familiarity with data center or facility inspection workflows and asset-monitoring best practices

$173,000/year to $245,000/year + bonus + equity + benefits