Sr. ML Engineer, Perception

5+ years building and shipping perception systems on real hardware

Strong Python and C++ with deep ML engineering experience

Computer vision, tracking, and detection in real-time, real-world conditions

On-device deployment experience using TensorRT, ONNX, or equivalent

Track record optimizing perception for embedded compute and latency budgets

Where you probably come from: Perception roles at defense companies, autonomy, perception-heavy robotics, or aerospace programs that put perception in front of 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, you're a new grad (we'll have a junior role later), or your CV experience is offline batch processing only.

Counter-UAS or aerial target tracking experience

Radar or RF perception

Classified program experience

Sensor fusion in adversarial or denied environments

BS, MS, or PhD in CS, EE, Robotics, or equivalent. Track record matters more than degree.

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

Build more in 1 month than most engineers build in 1 year. We field test weekly. Your work goes downrange, not into a filing cabinet.

Career velocity is real. At ~10 engineers, there are no layers between you and impact.

Work on a problem that actually matters. Small cheap drones are changing warfare. Our laser systems are the asymmetric answer — infinite magazine, near zero cost per shot, scalable to every base, border, facility, and truck.

Join the densest defense startup ecosystem in the country. California is where the next generation of defense companies are being built.

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.

This role requires access to export-controlled information or items that require "U.S. Person" status. As defined by U.S. law, individuals who are any one of the following are considered to be a "U.S. Person": (1) U.S. citizens, (2) legal permanent residents (a.k.a. green card holders), and (3) certain protected classes of asylees and refugees, as defined in 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3).