Technical Lead, Materra

The Team

Materra is on a mission to radically reduce global waste and move to a true circular economy. The team has developed technology that identifies waste material at the molecular level—starting with plastics. Materra works with industry partners to improve the way recycling centers process plastics using AI and robotics, to make recycling more affordable and scalable.

In this role, you will be entrusted with the ownership of and responsibility for the entire technical stack; from hardware, sensors, cameras, & control systems to the entire SW stack, backend pipelines, data collection frontends, high performance C++ code and ML inferencing. In addition to exemplary technical abilities and individual contributions, you will be coordinating the contributions of other software and hardware engineers towards the goals of the project and keeping in close communication with the project leadership.

You will also work closely with Hardware and Operations focused members of the project team to identify and then solve new or existing problems using your interdisciplinary expertise.

This is an incredibly dynamic role and requires high cross‑functional communication, people skills, organization, and planning. The ideal candidate is a self‑starter and has a track record of effectively operating in a dynamic loosely structured environment while leading/co‑leading a small team (e.g. startup, launching a new product from prototype through initial revenue).

• Setting the software technical direction for both research prototypes and product deliverables with the early stage leadership team.
• Guiding and mentoring junior team members.
• Building the whole solution: data acquisition, data processing pipelines, ML modeling, product launches, and customer feedback.
• Protective stewardship of the software and hardware stack, ensuring that it is stable, reliable and performant.
• Collaboration and coordination with the project leadership.

• 10+ years Technical Lead experience leading an interdisciplinary team.
• Good working knowledge of C++ and Python.
• Experience with Google ML Stack in computer vision.
• Data pipelines and storage: CNS, Spanner, Flume, Big Query, …
• Startup or early-stage product development experience.
• Demonstrated experience launching a product or service.
• Experience with cameras, sensor fusion, and integrated hardware systems.

• Experience with GCP is a plus.
• Embedded engineering experience is a plus.
• Experience working with related fields such as optics, hyperspectral imaging, chemistry, polymers and industrial plastics.

The US base salary range for this full‑time position is $248,000 - $341,000 + bonus + equity + benefits. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job‑related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your location during the hiring process.

Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only, and do not include bonus, equity, or benefits.

At X, we don't just accept difference - we celebrate it, we support it, and we thrive on it for the benefit of our employees, our products and our community. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status.

We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements.

If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please contact us at x‑accommodation‑(Use the "Apply for this Job" box below).