Software Tools Engineer

About You and The Role 

We are seeking a talented and motivated Software Tools Engineer to join our Autonomy Annotation team, where you will play a pivotal role in building, enhancing, and maintaining the tools used for annotation to support Zipline’s autonomy development efforts. In this role, you will focus on developing and supporting tools used by both the Annotation Team, internal customers and external contractors responsible for annotations. Your work will help enable the quality and scalability of the data used to train and validate autonomous systems, directly impacting the performance and safety of our autonomous aircraft.

What You'll Do 

Tool Development & Maintenance: Design, develop and maintain a suite of internal and external-facing tools that support the annotation team processes.

• Collaboration with Internal Customers: Work closely with the Internal Customers (Perception and ML teams) to understand their needs and requirements for annotation tools, ensuring that the tools are optimized for their workflows and deliver high-quality, accurate data.
• External Tool Integration: Facilitate seamless integration with external contractors responsible for data annotation, managing tool access and ensuring proper data handling and security practices.
• Automation & Efficiency: Identify opportunities to automate and optimize manual processes within the annotation workflows to reduce time and increase efficiency without compromising quality.
• Data Integrity & Quality Control: Implement features to track the progress and quality of annotations, monitor for errors and provide feedback to ensure the highest standards of data quality.
• Version Control & Documentation: Maintain versioned releases of the annotation tools, ensuring proper documentation is in place for both internal users and external contractors.
• Bug Fixes & Troubleshooting: Respond to and resolve technical issues that arise with annotation tools, both in production environments and in development cycles.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work with other engineering teams (e.g., Data Platform Team) to integrate the annotation tools with other internal systems and pipelines, as well as ensure smooth data flow between teams.
• Continuous Improvement: Continuously monitor the tool usage and performance, gather feedback from users, and iterate on the tools to improve usability, scalability and efficiency.

What You'll Bring 

Required:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Software, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Strong proficiency in programming languages such as Python, SQL or Rust.
• At least 3 years experience building, deploying, and maintaining software tools or applications that interact with both internal teams and external users/contractors.
• Experience with API integrations, webhooks and other 3rd party integration technologies.
• Familiarity with software development practices, including version control (e.g., Git), testing, and CI/CD pipelines.
• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to troubleshoot complex software issues.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams, both internal and external.

Preferred:

• Familiarity with UI/UX design principles and experience building or enhancing user interfaces.
• Knowledge of database management and integration (e.g., SQL, NoSQL).
• Experience with cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, GCP) or containerization technologies (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes).
• Familiarity with data annotation platforms or tools used in AI and machine learning workflows (e.g., Labelbox, v7, Encord, etc.).
• Experience with autonomous systems, robotics, or machine learning/AI-based tools.
• Familiarity with Agile development methodologies.

Soft Skills:

• Collaboration: Ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams and external contractors in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.
• Adaptability: Willingness to learn new technologies and adapt to changing project requirements.
• Detail-Oriented: Strong attention to detail and a focus on maintaining high standards for data quality and tool performance.
• Customer-Centric: A mindset of delivering excellent service to internal and external users, including contractors and team members.
• Ownership & Accountability: Ability to take ownership of tasks and projects, driving them to completion with minimal supervision.
• Upskilling Others / Knowledge Transfer: Willingness and ability to mentor and upskill fellow software engineers. You will actively contribute to fostering a culture of continuous learning by sharing knowledge, best practices and insights to help develop and elevate the technical skills of the team.