Perception Engineer, Staff

**Location:** Onsite — Austin, TX **Employment Type:** Direct Hire, Full‑Time **Job Title:** Perception Lead, Staff Eng ** Company Overview ** 9 Mothers Defense develops AI-enabled systems to counter unmanned aerial threats. Our first product, EDDA, is an autonomous counter-sUAS point-defense platform designed to detect, track, and neutralize Group 1 drone threats. The company is headquartered in Austin, Texas. ** Position Summary ** 9 Mothers is seeking a Perception Lead to own the computer vision and machine learning stack that powers target detection, classification, and tracking in our counter-sUAS systems. The Perception Lead is responsible for the research, development, and deployment of the perception pipeline that enables EDDA to engage aerial threats in real time. This is a senior individual contributor position. ** Essential Duties ** - Own the visual perception pipeline end-to-end, including detection, classification, and tracking of sUAS targets in real time. - Design and train machine learning models that meet latency and accuracy requirements for edge deployment on Jetson-class hardware. - Architect and maintain the dataset and simulation pipeline, including data collection, labeling, curation, augmentation, synthetic data generation, and closed-loop retraining based on field performance. - Optimize inference performance on Jetson platforms, including model pruning, quantization, TensorRT integration, and custom kernel development as required. - Establish the model evaluation framework and metrics used to assess perception performance under operational conditions. - Deliver target state information (position, velocity, identity, uncertainty) to the controls subsystem. - Collaborate with the hardware team on camera, optics, and sensor selection. ** Requirements ** - 6+ years of professional experience in computer vision or machine learning, including production deployment on edge hardware. - Demonstrated experience shipping a detection or tracking system under real-world latency, small-object, or adversarial constraints. - Strong engineering skills beyond modeling, including experience with PyTorch or JAX through to deployed, optimized inference. - Proficiency in Python for model development and C++ or Rust for deployed inference. - U.S. citizenship and ability to pass a background check. ** Preferred Qualifications ** - TensorRT and NVIDIA Jetson deployment experience at production scale. - Multi-object tracking under challenging conditions. - Multi-modal sensor fusion experience (EO/IR, radar, acoustic). - Synthetic data generation and sim-to-real methodologies. - Prior experience in defense or other safety-critical computer vision applications. - Active security clearance, or eligibility to obtain one. - A passion for building robots or engineering projects as a hobby. ** Benefits ** - **Meaningful Early Equity** : You aren't just an employee; you are a foundational owner. Your contributions directly drive the value of your stake in the company. - **Direct Roadmap Influence** : Forget the bureaucracy of big defense. You will have a seat at the table, directly shaping our product and technology trajectory from day one. - **Mission-Critical Work** : We don't build for "what if." We build systems the Department of War actively needs to counter immediate, real-world threats. - **The Builder's Playground** : Work in a brand-new lab fully optimized for rapid prototyping, equipped with NVIDIA Jetsons, high-end scopes, and 3-D printers. - **100% Employer-Paid Premiums** : We cover 100% of your medical, dental, and vision insurance premiums and cover 50% of healthcare premiums for your dependents. - **Unlimited PTO** : We value results, not clock-watching. Take the time you need to stay sharp and recharge. - **Zero Red Tape** : You report to the founders. You have the autonomy to make technical decisions that would take months of committee approval at a larger firm. - **Austin-Based Culture** : Join an onsite team in Austin, TX, where we prioritize high-bandwidth collaboration and rapid field-testing. - **Relocation Assistance** : We want the best talent in the room. If you aren't in Austin yet, we’ll help you get here, to make your transition to the Silicon Hills seamless. ** About the Interview ** 1. Application screen phone call (30 min) 2. Live coding test with the Director of Engineering (45 min via MS Teams) 3. Paid take-home consulting agreement ($500, ~4-8 hours) 4. Onsite interview in Austin 5. Offer ** Equal Employment Opportunity ** 9 Mothers is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status. ** Export Control ** This position may require access to information or technology subject to U.S. export control laws and regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). U.S. citizenship is required.