The Role and Your Impact:We are seeking a skilled Perception Engineer to join our software team and work on end-to-end perception and sensor-fusion stack. You will develop, train, and deploy vision and sensor based models; manage data pipelines; and enable real-time detection and tracking for our laser-based defense system. This role bridges data science, software engineering, and robotics to deliver reliable, high-throughput perception performance on edge hardware.
What You'll Own:- Design, train, validate and fine-tune machine-learning and deep-learning models (e.g., YOLO, RT-DETR, CNNs) for object detection, classification, and segmentation.
- Integrate and fuse data from multi-modal sensors (RGB, thermal, LiDAR/ToF, IMU, encoders) to produce robust, real-time Regions of Interest (ROIs).
- Research, implement, and as-needed develop high and low-level image-processing techniques, such as deconvolution, low SNR detection, and motion-isolation techniques.
- Collaborate with hardware teams to integrate and troubleshoot sensors (global-shutter and rolling-shutter cameras, thermal imagers, LiDAR/ToF modules, IMUs) over GigE Vision, USB3 Vision, CAN, SPI, and I6 protocols; develop and debug embedded firmware in C/C++ (or Rust) for microcontrollers (STM32, NXP, TI) and FPGAs using VHDL/Verilog within RTOS environments (FreeRTOS, Zephyr).
- Build scalable data ingestion, labeling, augmentation, and storage pipelines (simulated and field data) ensuring 100k+ labeled frames accuracy.
- Optimize inference frameworks for edge deployment (GPU/FPGA), achieving 64500 Hz end-to-end throughput.
- Develop dashboards and telemetry for drift analysis, hardware health monitoring, performance metrics, and automated retraining triggers.
- Author clear technical docs; mentor junior engineers on best practices in vision, sensor-fusion, and embedded firmware engineering.
- Determines development needs by directly analyzing technical and physical limitations of our goals.
What We're Looking For:- 2-6+ years in computer vision, sensor fusion, or robotics perception roles
- Strong C++ with deep ML engineering experience
- Hands-on with ML frameworks (TensorFlow, PyTorch) and real-time inference engines (TensorRT, OpenVINO)
- Computer vision, tracking, and detection in real-time, real-world conditions
- Familiarity with ROS2, Docker, and CI/CD for ML pipelines
- Experience with multi-sensor calibration and data synchronization
Where you probably come from:Perception roles at defense companies, autonomous vehicle programs, robotics platforms, or aerospace programs that deploy perception against real targets.
We want to talk if: You've shipped a perception system that ran on real hardware against real targets. You know the gap between paper SOTA and what survives field conditions.
Not a fit if: Your background is research only without deployment, or your CV experience is offline batch processing only.
Nice to Haves:- Edge-AI optimization (quantization, pruning)
- Experience with FPGA or embedded GPU platforms
- Background in defense or safety-critical systems
- Familiarity with cybersecurity guidelines and secure coding practices
Education:- BS, MS, or PhD in CS, EE, Robotics, or equivalent. Track record matters more than degree.
How You Operate:- Extreme bias for action. You ship working perception on real hardware, not slideware
- You debug from first principles, not intuition alone
- Comfortable with ambiguity and fast iteration in a startup environment
- Clear communicator across software, hardware, and operator-facing surfaces
- Self directed. You identify what needs to happen next and do it without being told
How We Work:Core hours are Monday through Friday, 9 to 6. When we're sprinting toward a demo or field test, the team ramps up - nights, weekends, whatever it takes to ship. When the sprint lands, we ramp down. We don't manufacture intensity for show.
Benefits:- Competitive salary + equity
- United Health Care medical, dental, and vision coverage
- Flexible 18 days PTO + 5 sick days
- Travel to field test events and range days
- Covered daily lunches and office snacks + drinks
- E-bike / scooter stipend ( Up to $500)
- Direct access to leadership and real ownership over your work
