Most complex sensor systems begin with a simple goal—ensuring safety and efficiency. Whether it’s avoiding collisions between vehicles or predicting future actions, the essence remains the same: can we control, predict and mitigate risks effectively? While stating this goal is straightforward, achieving it is usually quite challenging. Often, challenges stem from the complexity of the system, inherent limitations of sensors and algorithms and mismatched timescales between sensors and algorithms. In this talk, we will explore the key challenges in engineering complex sensor-based systems and outline effective strategies for overcoming these challenges based on decades of real-world experience. We’ll focus on four critical areas: system engineering, team organization, data management and simulation. In each of these areas, we’ll share principles and techniques to help you navigate the challenges of complex sensor systems and deliver impactful solutions to real-world problems.