Perception Engineer

Mach Industries

$120K — $150K *
Aerospace & Defense
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 7+ years of experience in CS/EE/Robotics or equivalent; BS/MS/PhD preferred.
  • Proficient in C++ on Linux and Python with ML/tooling skills; experienced in CUDA optimization.
  • Strong background in modern detection/segmentation/tracking algorithms; proficient in PyTorch.
  • Experience building large datasets, including labeling and QA pipelines.
  • Hands-on expertise in model compression and real-time inference optimization.
  • Familiarity with EO/IR imagery and experience with challenging test environments.

Responsibilities

  • Design and refine detection/segmentation/tracking architectures for multi-spectral imagery.
  • Implement training/evaluation pipelines and continuous regression testing using field data.
  • Optimize models for real-time embedded systems, meeting stringent performance targets.
  • Integrate vision outputs with auxiliary sensor data for advanced tracking solutions.
  • Develop tools for data visualization and analysis, including test plans with cross-functional teams.
  • Conduct simulation-based testing with high-fidelity sensor models and validate algorithms.

Benefits

  • Health insurance coverage.
  • Retirement plan options.
  • Opportunities for professional development and learning.
  • Highly competitive equity grants included in compensation.
  • Access to a dynamic, technology-forward work environment.
Full Job Description
The Role

Mach Industries is building an AI-forward autonomy stack for contested environments where GPS and other sensing are unavailable or unreliable. As a Perception Engineer, you will design, train, and deploy state-of-the-art vision and multi-sensor perception systems that enable navigation, targeting, and automatic target recognition on our product lines. You'll work across deep learning, computer vision, and embedded systems to bring research-grade algorithms to real-world deployments.

Key Responsibilities
  • Build and refine detection/segmentation/tracking architectures (CNN/Transformer) for EO/IR and multi-spectral imagery; drive foundation-scale datasets, training recipes, and robust generalization to long-tail and degraded conditions.
  • Stand up training/eval pipelines (PR/ROC, mAP, latency, robustness suites); implement continuous regression testing and model-update loops from field data.
  • Optimize models for real-time embedded inference (quantization/pruning, TensorRT/ONNX Runtime), profile CPU/GPU, and meet tight throughput/latency targets on Jetson-class hardware.
  • Combine vision outputs with auxiliary sensing (e.g., radar/LiDAR/RF cues) for confirm/deny, association, and track management using decision-level fusion.
  • Create visualization, triage, and root-cause tools for rapid insight from simulation, HITL, and flight logs; define end-to-end test plans with hardware and flight teams.
  • Instrument health metrics, drift detection, and graceful degradation; write clear tests and documentation mapped to performance requirements.
  • Perform simulation-based testing with high-fidelity sensor models and validate algorithms using real-world datasets.


Required Qualifications
  • Production C++ on Linux and Python for ML/tooling; profiling, optimization, and rigorous testing discipline. Experience diving into CUDA backends for performance optimization and debugging.
  • Strong with modern detection/segmentation/tracking (e.g., Retina/FCOS/DETR/Mask2D/Video models) and training/fine-tuning in PyTorch.
  • Proven experience building large, diverse datasets; labeling/QA pipelines; augmentation; experiment tracking; and reproducible training.
  • Hands-on with model compression (INT8/FP16), runtime optimization, and real-time constraints.
  • EO/IR imagery experience and working with real flight/test data in challenging environments.
  • 7+ years of experience with either a BS/MS/PhD in CS/EE/Robotics or similar, or equivalent experience; track record shipping ML models to production.


Preferred Qualifications
  • Multi-modal perception experience (EO/IR + radar/LiDAR/RF) at the decision or feature level.
  • Robustness and safety: adversarial/rare-event testing, long-horizon reliability metrics, dataset shift/drift monitoring.
  • Physics-aware imaging: radiometric correction, NUC/FFC, atmospheric effects modeling; synthetic data/simulation for coverage.
  • MLOps and data infra: SQL/Parquet, dataset/versioning tools, CI-based validation; scalable training on multi-GPU.


Disclosures

This position may require access to information protected under U.S. export control laws and regulations, including the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). Please note that any offer for employment may be conditioned on authorization to receive software or technology controlled under these U.S. export control laws and regulations without sponsorship for an export license.

The salary range for this role is an estimate based on a wide range of compensation factors, inclusive of base salary only. Actual salary offers may vary based on (but not limited to) work experience, education and training, critical skills, and business considerations. Highly competitive equity grants are included in most offers and are considered part of Mach's total compensation package. Mach offers benefits such as health insurance, retirement plans, and opportunities for professional development.

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