Joseph Cole, Ph.D. — Co-founder & CEO, Rose City Robotics

Joseph Cole, Ph.D.

Co-founder & CEO, Rose City Robotics

A Ph.D. applied physicist and algorithm developer with over 20 years of deep technical experience spanning machine learning, image and signal processing, embedded systems, and high-performance computing. Joseph has designed algorithms for semiconductor inspection at Applied Materials, built cardiac ultrasound imaging pipelines on Nvidia Jetson hardware at YorLabs, modeled nanophotonics at Rice University, and processed 3D seismic datasets on supercomputing clusters at CGGVeritas — and now leads the technical vision at Rose City Robotics, building high-fidelity synthetic data pipelines for training physical AI systems.

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Joseph Cole presenting at the Battery Ventures Conference

Technical Expertise

Image & Signal Processing
Beamforming, doppler modes, seismic noise removal on supercomputing clusters, sub-micron wafer defect detection — from defense-grade satellite imaging at Northrop Grumman to cardiac ultrasound pipelines at YorLabs
Machine Learning & Deep Learning
PyTorch, YOLO, vision transformers, and edge-deployed ML models — grounded in a Ph.D. in Applied Physics and a Graduate Certificate in Applied Statistics from Portland State University
Algorithm Development
Matlab and Python — production algorithms deployed in Intel fabs (Applied Materials), National Missile Defense systems (Northrop Grumman), and real-time medical imaging (YorLabs)
Embedded & Real-Time Systems
Software architecture on Nvidia Jetson ARM SoM; FPGA integration; defined frame rate and pipeline latency requirements for production cardiac ultrasound hardware
Applied Physics & Optics
Ph.D. in Applied Physics (Rice University); nanophotonics, FEM modeling with COMSOL, UV-vis, Raman, SEM, AFM — first-principles physical reasoning applied to every system he builds
Physics Engines & NVIDIA Tooling
NVIDIA Omniverse, Isaac Sim, and Cosmos for high-fidelity synthetic data generation and digital twin development — the foundation of RCR's physical AI training pipeline

Experience

  • Rose City Robotics

    Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer

    February 2024 – Present

    • Co-founded RCR to apply 20 years of computer vision and algorithm development to physical AI and industrial inspection
    • Architecting CAD-driven machine vision systems and synthetic data pipelines for physical AI training; owning technical strategy through customer deployment

  • YorLabs

    Staff Engineer – Ultrasound

    March 2021 – January 2024

    • Lead developer responsible for software architecture of a new cardiac ultrasound machine based on the Nvidia Jetson ARM system-on-module
    • Developed beamforming and image processing algorithms to implement B-mode, color doppler, and pulse wave doppler ultrasound modes
    • Defined user requirements including frame rate and pipeline latency; ensured system architecture could perform as expected
    • Demonstrated system performance in lab and during two animal trials, leading to successful Series B and C investment round closes

  • Applied Materials

    Senior Algorithm Developer

    March 2012 – February 2017

    • Designed algorithms in Matlab for the UVision and SEMVision platforms — microscopes for wafer inspection and defect review deployed in Intel fabs
    • Earned Employee of the Quarter (Q3 2012) for closing algorithmic gaps at customer site
    • Designed image enhancement backlight algorithm on a short loop to secure $6M in SEMVision tool sales

  • CGGVeritas

    Staff Seismic Imager

    October 2009 – July 2011

    • Employed Harpertown, Nehalem, and Westmere supercomputing clusters to generate 3D subsurface images
    • Applied wave propagation theory and signal processing techniques to remove noise from seismic data

  • Rice University

    Graduate Research Assistant

    2002 – 2008

    • Designed, machined, and constructed experimental apparatuses using optical components, electronics, and high vacuum equipment
    • Modeled nanoparticle electromagnetic and thermal responses using COMSOL on a Xeon-based cluster

  • Northrop Grumman Corporation

    Associate Engineer

    February 2001 – July 2002

    • Designed missile state vector prediction algorithms for National Missile Defense infrared satellites
    • Triangulated ballistic missile parameters in simulation using least squares estimation

Education

Publications