Applications Engineer, San Francisco

• Imaging feasibility and application development: Run trials on customer samples, evaluate inspection requirements, and determine how to reliably capture defects using the right imaging configuration.
• Lighting and optics selection: Select and configure cameras, lenses, lighting, filters, and geometry, including challenging reflective, transparent, dark, or low-contrast surfaces.
• SF lab operations: Own lab testing standards, hardware inventory, sample handling, equipment evaluation, and documentation of technical findings.
• Proof-of-concept development: Build and validate inspection POCs, evaluate performance, and communicate technical feasibility, limitations, and recommendations to Sales, Applications, and customers.
• PLC and industrial integration: Configure and integrate vision systems with existing PLCs and production equipment, including I/O mapping, communication protocols, signal validation, and basic PLC logic troubleshooting.
• Hardware installation and troubleshooting: Support camera and lighting installation, diagnose electrical, connectivity, and hardware issues, and troubleshoot system integration challenges.
• Production performance optimization: Investigate false rejects, missed defects, image quality variation, and environmental factors affecting inspection reliability.
• Customer deployments and technical support: Work directly with customer engineers, maintenance teams, and field Applications Engineers to install, validate, and troubleshoot systems in manufacturing environments.
• Hardware and technology evaluation: Test new cameras, lenses, lighting, and related technologies to improve inspection capabilities.
• Documentation and technical feedback: Document testing results, system configurations, and lessons learned while providing feedback to Product and Engineering teams.

• 3+ years of hands-on experience in applications engineering, machine vision, industrial automation, systems integration, or a related technical field.
• Machine vision experience: Hands-on experience configuring industrial cameras, lighting, and lenses for inspection or measurement applications, including imaging trials, feasibility studies, or proof-of-concept testing.
• PLC and controls knowledge: Practical experience working with PLC systems such as Allen Bradley, Siemens, Beckhoff, or similar, including I/O configuration, basic programming logic, and troubleshooting.
• Industrial system integration: Experience integrating cameras, sensors, or other hardware with industrial equipment and production systems.
• Hardware and electrical troubleshooting: Comfortable diagnosing connectivity, electrical signals, and hardware issues using tools such as multimeters and other diagnostic equipment.
• Manufacturing environment experience: Familiarity with production lines, industrial equipment, and the technical constraints of working around live manufacturing operations.
• Independent technical problem-solving: Comfortable working directly with hardware, running experiments, troubleshooting issues, and making technical decisions.
• Technical communication: Able to document findings clearly and explain technical trade-offs to customers and internal teams.
• Location: Based in the San Francisco Bay Area or willing to relocate, and able to work primarily from our SF office.
• Travel flexibility: Willing to travel to customer manufacturing facilities for installations, troubleshooting, and deployment support.

• Experience with telecentric optics, precision measurement, or advanced optical configurations.
• Experience with Allen Bradley CompactLogix/ControlLogix or Siemens S7 PLC platforms.
• Familiarity with AI-based inspection workflows, including image collection, labeling, model evaluation, or inspection performance optimization.
• Experience with industrial networking, electrical schematics, or controls system troubleshooting.
• Background in plant engineering, manufacturing support, or industrial equipment commissioning.

• Own the SF lab: Take responsibility for imaging trials, testing standards, hardware evaluation, and technical feasibility.
• Solve challenging inspection problems: Work on applications where traditional machine vision has struggled, from difficult surfaces to complex manufacturing environments.
• From lab to production: See your solutions move beyond proof-of-concept testing and into real production lines, integrating with industrial controls and equipment.
• Variety and technical depth: Work across automotive, aerospace, and consumer manufacturing, combining optics, automation, AI vision, and industrial troubleshooting.
• Direct product impact: Your findings will influence hardware decisions, deployment approaches, and future product improvements.

• Experience running machine vision feasibility studies or application development in a lab, demo center, vision vendor, distributor, or systems integrator.
• Experience imaging challenging parts, including reflective, specular, transparent, dark, or low-contrast surfaces.
• Knowledge of advanced lighting techniques such as dome, dark field, backlight, coaxial, or polarized lighting.
• Experience with industrial vision platforms such as Cognex, Keyence, Matrox, Halcon, or Dalsa.
• Experience with industrial communication protocols such as EtherNet/IP, PROFINET, Modbus, or similar.
• Experience integrating vision systems into PLC-controlled production lines.
• Customer-facing technical experience, including on-site installations, application support, troubleshooting, or operator training.
• Experience troubleshooting inspection performance in production environments, including false rejects, missed defects, and image quality variation.

Location: San Francisco, CA. This is an in-office role with hands-on responsibility for our SF lab.

Travel: Customer-site travel is required for deployments, installations, and technical troubleshooting. Specific travel expectations will be discussed during the interview process.

• Extreme growth and real-world impact: We're not building demos. We're deploying AI systems on real production lines, at scale.
• Talent density: You'll work with world-class engineers and operators across AI, embedded systems, and enterprise deployment.
• Front-row seat to the AI manufacturing wave: One of the biggest transformations happening in industry right now.
• Ownership: Your work directly changes the trajectory of the company.
• Global exposure: You'll work with some of the most advanced customers and factories in the world.

Overview.ai https://overview.ai/ is bringing the cutting edge of AI computer vision to manufacturing, solving inspection problems that were previously not solvable with traditional machine vision. We're a full-stack company: we deploy GPU-powered cameras on production lines, run inference on the edge, and operate a platform that supports large fleets of devices deployed across the world.

We're growing extremely fast. Our customers love the product because it works: high accuracy, fast deployment, and an operator-friendly experience that makes real factory rollouts possible, not just pilots.