Founding Senior ML Engineer

About Coco

At Coco, we’re reimagining urban logistics by enabling faster, more efficient last-mile delivery through our fleet of sidewalk delivery robots. Our mission is to empower cities, boost local economies, and deliver delightful customer experiences by connecting people with neighborhood merchants.

Our robots navigate city sidewalks safely and autonomously, allowing businesses to expand their reach while improving urban life. To bring this vision to scale, we’re assembling a world-class autonomy team to develop the AI stack that powers our next-generation robotic systems.

Role Overview

As a Founding Machine Learning Engineer, you will play a foundational role in building Coco’s autonomy stack from the ground up. Working closely with the CTO and other senior engineers, you will lead the development and deployment of core ML models responsible for perception, decision-making, and control in real-world sidewalk environments.

Your contributions will directly enhance our robot-to-pilot ratio, allowing us to scale deliveries sustainably and affordably across dense urban areas.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and implement machine learning models for real-time perception, path planning, sensor fusion, and decision-making.

• Build and scale data pipelines to ingest, label, and preprocess data from multimodal sensors including LiDAR, cameras, and radar.

• Train, validate, and deploy deep learning models using both simulation and real-world datasets from millions of miles of delivery logs.

• Optimize neural network performance for edge deployment, ensuring high accuracy, low latency, and robust safety.

• Develop and test within simulation environments, collaborating closely with hardware engineers for seamless software-hardware integration.

• Incorporate redundancy, safety mechanisms, and regulatory compliance into the autonomy stack.

• Mentor, recruit, and grow the machine learning and autonomy team. Help shape team culture and engineering practices.

Required Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in machine learning, robotics, or autonomous systems.

• Hands-on experience training and deploying real-world neural networks.

• Deep understanding of technologies used in autonomous systems:

  • Structure from Motion (SfM), SLAM, large-scale mapping, localization

  • Reinforcement learning, imitation learning, neural rendering

• Expertise in deep learning for computer vision, including CNNs, object detection, and semantic segmentation.

• Strong coding skills in Python and C++. Practical experience with PyTorch.

• Proven experience deploying ML models on cloud and/or edge infrastructure at scale.

• Exceptional leadership, problem-solving, and communication skills.

Nice to Have

• Contributions to open-source AV platforms (e.g., Apollo, Autoware).

• Experience with ROS, CAN bus, and low-level hardware/software integration.

• Familiarity with ISO 26262, UL 4600, or other AV safety regulations.

• Research or production experience with reinforcement learning or imitation learning for autonomous decision-making.

Why Join Coco?

• Be a founding member of a high-impact team reshaping urban life.

• Work on cutting-edge AI and robotics technologies.

• Contribute to building a sustainable, scalable, and human-centered future for delivery.

• Join a mission-driven company that values creativity, autonomy, and bold ideas.