Senior Computer Vision Applied Scientist

San Francisco, California

Full-time

Job Description

Who we are

The problem: Every minute matters in fire response. As climate change amplifies the intensity of wildfires—with longer fire seasons, drier fuels, and faster winds—new ignitions spread faster and put more communities at risk. Today, most wildfires are detected by bystanders and reported via 911, meaning it can take hours to detect a fire, verify its exact location and size, and dispatch first responders. Fire authorities need a faster way to detect, confirm, and pinpoint fires so that they can quickly respond—preventing small flare-ups from becoming devastating infernos.

About Pano: We are a 130+ person growth-stage hybrid-remote start-up, headquartered in San Francisco. We are the leader in early wildfire detection and intelligence, helping fire professionals respond to fires faster and more safely—with the right equipment, timely information, and enhanced coordination—so that they can stop a new ignition before it grows. Pano AI combines advanced hardware, software, and artificial intelligence into an easy-to-use, web-based platform. Leveraging a network of ultra-high-definition, 360-degree cameras atop high vantage points, as well as satellite and other data feeds, Pano AI produces a real-time picture of threats in a geographic region and delivers immediate, actionable intelligence.

Pano AI is on TIME's list of the 100 Most Influential Companies of 2025! MIT Technology Review listed Pano as one of the top 15 climate tech companies to watch in 2024, and Fast Company named Pano AI one of the Top 10 most innovative companies in AI of 2023. We’ve also been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and CNBC News. Pano AI’s dozens of government and enterprise customers span 16 states in the U.S., five states in Australia, and BC, Canada, and we are currently monitoring over 30 million acres of land. Pano AI has raised $89M in venture capital funding from Giant Ventures, Liberty Mutual Ventures, Tokio Marine Future Fund, Congruent Ventures, Initialized Capital, Salesforce Ventures, and T-Mobile Ventures. Learn more at https://www.pano.ai/.

The Role

The Senior Computer Vision Applied Scientist will be a part of the Perception team that develops and deploys algorithms to detect, localize, and monitor wildfires from mountaintop cameras and satellite images. The Applied Scientist will develop and maintain systems related to camera capture, localization, visualization, and geometric understanding. You'll work with platform engineers to develop novel software solutions to enable real-world handling of a key environmental challenge. As a self-motivated and enthusiastic member of our team, you will work in an agile environment and balance developing critical new features with improving the core technical underpinnings of our system.

The Role

Final salary offered is based upon multiple factors, including individual job-related qualifications, education, experience, knowledge, skills and location. In addition to salary, this position is also eligible for stock options. We offer comprehensive health insurance, paid time off, and 401k.

What you’ll do

Develop systems that work at the intersection of terrestrial camera and geospatial data

Own the software algorithms that estimate locations, stitch panoramas, and contextually visualize real world information

Systematically drive improvements in location estimates by improving models, refining techniques and introducing new data sources

Optimize our camera capture systems to get the best images for fire detection

Analyze the results and compare between different algorithms to select the most appropriate mechanism

In conjunction with our AI platform team, implement algorithms so that they can be deployed to our production systems and drive significant improvements in our business metrics

What you’ll bring

7+ years of industry experience plus a MS in Computer Science – OR – 5+ years of industry experience plus a PhD in Computer Science

3+ years of industry experience in geometry and imaging aspects of computer vision

3+ years of experience programming in Python

Preferred skills

Experience working with geospatial data / GIS systems

Experience working with cloud systems

Excellent communication skills

Pano is an equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and supporting our team-members regardless of where they come from. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.

Who we are