Principal AI Software Engineer

Principal AI Software Engineer

Build the Intelligence Layer for Autonomous Manufacturing

Remote/Hybrid · Allentown / Bethlehem, PA Area · Seed Stage

About 4MP

At 4MP, we are building a new technological foundation for precision manufacturing.

Our platform enables CNC machines to self-measure, self-correct, and continuously improve — transforming conventional machine tools into autonomous precision systems.

4MP is backed by a prestigious institutional investor and is fully funded at the Seed stage. We are now moving from early software development into the design and implementation of complex, detailed AI and software systems that connect machines, sensors, geometry, physics, and real-world manufacturing behavior.

We are building a system where AI does not live only in software. It interacts with machines, sensors, geometry, physics, CNC programs, and real-world manufacturing behavior.

The Mission

We are seeking a hands-on AI Principal Engineer who can help build the intelligence layer of 4MP’s autonomous manufacturing platform.

This person will design and develop AI systems that enable machines to interpret manufacturing intent, understand system deviations, reason about physical behavior, and generate corrective actions.

This is not a research-only role.

This is a builder role for someone who can turn advanced AI, physical systems, robotics principles, sensor data, and manufacturing context into working software that performs in the real world.

What You Will Build

• AI systems that interpret manufacturing intent from CNC programs, CAM outputs, sensor data, and machine behavior
• Physical AI capabilities that connect perception, geometry, machine state, and corrective action
• Learning frameworks that combine AI reasoning with physics-based models and real-world feedback
• Closed-loop correction systems that improve machining outcomes through measurement and adaptation
• AI methods for understanding deviations between nominal geometry, measured geometry, and actual machine behavior
• Sensor-driven intelligence systems using machine telemetry, metrology data, optical data, and production context
• Simulation and validation environments for testing autonomous correction models
• Data pipelines and model architectures that support multi-modal manufacturing intelligence
• AI tools that help transform machine-generated data into optimization engines
• Scalable AI components that can eventually operate across different machines, parts, materials, and production environments

Role Nature: Principal-Level AI Engineering

This is a senior individual contributor role with platform-level technical influence.

You will work directly with the founding team and collaborate across AI, software, robotics, metrology, machine physics, sensing, geometry, and manufacturing domains.

You will help define how AI becomes a core layer of the 4MP platform — not as a standalone model, but as an intelligence system connected to physical machines and real-world correction loops.

You will operate at the intersection of:

• Physical AI
• Robotics and intelligent systems
• Machine learning and optimization
• Geometry and metrology
• CNC and CAM intelligence
• Machine physics and process modeling
• Sensor data and calibration
• Simulation and validation
• Platform engineering

Key Responsibilities

• Design and develop AI systems for autonomous manufacturing, machine understanding, and closed-loop correction
• Build models and algorithms that interpret CNC programs, CAM logic, machining context, and operator variability
• Develop methods to connect sensor data, geometry, machine telemetry, and physics-based models
• Create AI systems that can identify deviations, reason about causes, and support corrective actions
• Build learning loops that improve from test results, machine corrections, and production outcomes
• Support the development of simulation environments for training, testing, and validating AI behavior
• Work closely with software engineers to integrate AI capabilities into production-grade systems
• Collaborate with metrology, machining, and testing teams to validate models against real-world data
• Translate complex physical behavior into robust software architectures and scalable AI systems
• Help define data requirements, model evaluation methods, validation metrics, and system-level performance expectations
• Contribute to AI architecture decisions that will shape the long-term 4MP platform
• Mentor other technical contributors and help shape the future AI team

Who You Are

You are a deeply technical AI engineer who is excited by systems that interact with the physical world.

You are not limited to model development in isolation. You understand that real-world AI requires sensing, uncertainty, calibration, noisy data, physical constraints, system behavior, and validation.

You are comfortable working across software and hardware boundaries. You can reason about robotics, machines, geometry, control, perception, data pipelines, and platform architecture.

You are hands-on, practical, and able to move from concept to working prototype. You are comfortable with ambiguity, but you bring technical structure and engineering discipline to complex problems.

What We Require

• 8+ years of experience in AI/ML, robotics, physical AI/ML, autonomous systems, intelligent systems, controls, simulation, or related technical fields
• Strong hands-on engineering experience building AI, ML, robotics, optimization, perception, control, or data-driven systems
• Experience working with real-world physical data, sensor data, machine telemetry, robotics data, industrial data, or other complex multi-modal datasets
• Strong software engineering skills and ability to build production-oriented AI systems, not just experiments
• Strong understanding of model development, data pipelines, system architecture, validation, and deployment
• Experience translating ambiguous technical problems into working models, algorithms, tools, or systems
• Ability to work closely with software, hardware, testing, and domain experts
• Strong mathematical and technical foundation in areas such as optimization, statistics, geometry, robotics, controls, simulation, or physics-based modeling
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Robotics, Engineering, Physics, Mathematics, or a related technical field — or equivalent practical experience

What Will Set You Apart

• Direct experience with physical AI, robotics, autonomous systems, industrial AI, or machine intelligence connected to real-world equipment
• Experience with CNC machining, CAM systems, G-code, machine tools, metrology, manufacturing data, or industrial automation
• Experience combining AI with physics-based models, digital twins, simulation, controls, or sensor fusion
• Experience building closed-loop systems where AI interprets real-world feedback and recommends or generates corrective action
• Experience with geometry processing, 3D data, point clouds, optical sensing, machine vision, or metrology systems
• Experience developing AI systems for robotics, aerospace, automotive, manufacturing, medical devices, or other high-precision physical environments
• Advanced degree in Computer Science, Robotics, Engineering, Physics, Mathematics, or a related field
• Startup or scale-up experience where speed, ownership, and ambiguity are part of the job
• Proven ability to turn unsolved technical problems into reliable working systems
• Strong desire to build foundational technology rather than incremental features

Why This Role Matters

4MP is not building a generic AI application.

We are building intelligence for machines that operate in the physical world. The AI layer must understand geometry, machine behavior, sensor data, process variation, and manufacturing intent.

This role is central to making 4MP’s platform capable of moving from measurement to understanding, and from understanding to correction.

Your work will help define how autonomous manufacturing systems reason, learn, and improve over time.

Why Join Now

This is the stage where the core intelligence architecture is being shaped.

Joining now means you will have a foundational role in building the AI systems behind autonomous manufacturing — working directly on the technical layer that connects software, machines, sensors, physics, and real-world correction.

You will not simply contribute to an existing platform.

You will help build the intelligence foundation of a category-defining company from the ground up.