Senior Engineer, Computer Vision (C++) (R5195)

Shield AI; City of Melbourne; On-site; AUD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Shield AI is seeking a Computer Vision C++ Engineer to advance real‑time perception for its autonomous systems. You will design, build, and integrate high‑performance CV algorithms into C++ pipelines for edge deployment, translating research into deployable software and tackling bespoke perception challenges.

The role demands strong C++ expertise, experience with real‑time systems, and a solid grounding in CV and ML fundamentals.

Qualifications

• Degree in Computer Vision, Computer Science, Engineering, or related field.
• Deep proficiency in C++, with experience in high‑performance, real‑time environments.
• Experience designing and implementing custom computer vision algorithms from scratch.
• Solid understanding of computer vision, image processing, and machine learning basics.
• Strong software engineering fundamentals, data structures, algorithms, performance, and version control.
• Proven ability to own technical work from requirements through design, implementation, and delivery.
• Ability to collaborate with AI, robotics, and optical engineers to deliver edge solutions.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement real‑time perception capabilities for autonomous systems.
• Develop and integrate advanced computer vision algorithms into high‑performance C++ pipelines.
• Translate research concepts into deployable software for edge deployment.
• Work on bespoke perception models and their integration into perception systems.
• Improve robustness across varied lighting, viewpoints, and environments.

Skills

C++ Proficiency

Real-time Systems

Computer Vision Algorithms

Software Engineering

Cross-functional Collaboration

Education

Master's or PhD in CS/Engineering/Robotics

Tools

OpenCV

Job description

Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture‑backed defense‑tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software and V‑BAT and X‑BAT aircraft. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia‑Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide. For more information, visit www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube.

Job Description:

This role is for a Computer Vision C++ Engineer to support the development of real‑time perception capabilities for Shield AI's autonomous systems.

The Computer Vision Engineer will be responsible for designing, developing, and integrating advanced computer vision algorithms into high‑performance C++ software pipelines. The role will focus on building custom perception capabilities from the ground up, with an emphasis on real‑time performance, reliability, and deployment in edge compute environments. This position is required to increase the team's capacity and technical depth in real‑time computer vision, image processing, and applied machine learning.

The successful candidate will bring strong C++ software engineering skills, experience developing high‑performance or real‑time systems, and a deep understanding of computer vision fundamentals. They should be capable of translating research concepts into deployable software and comfortable working on bespoke algorithms rather than relying only on existing libraries. Experience with areas such as object detection, image classification, target recognition, semantic segmentation, feature extraction, object tracking, video analytics, dataset curation, model evaluation, or deployment of trained perception models would be highly valuable.

The role will also support the development and integration of learned perception models into real‑time computer vision pipelines. This may include adapting detection, classification, recognition, or segmentation models for operational imagery; improving model performance across varied lighting, viewpoint, background, and environmental conditions; evaluating false positives and false negatives; and working with representative datasets to improve robustness. Familiarity with combining learned models with classical computer vision techniques, optimizing inference for edge deployment, and integrating model outputs into C++ perception systems would be beneficial. Candidates with a Master's or PhD in Computer Science, Engineering, Robotics, Computer Vision, Machine Learning, or a related field would be well aligned with the technical needs of the team, though strong applied industry experience is also highly relevant.

Required qualifications:

• Degree in Computer Vision, Computer Science, Engineering, or related technical field.
• Deep proficiency in C++, with proven experience developing software in high‑performance, real‑time environments.
• Demonstrated experience designing and implementing custom computer vision algorithms from scratch, rather than exclusively applying existing libraries.
• Solid foundational understanding of computer vision, image processing, and machine learning principles.
• Strong software engineering fundamentals, including data structures, algorithms, performance optimization, and version control.
• Proven ability to own technical work from ambiguous requirements through algorithm design, implementation, integration, and delivery.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with multidisciplinary cross‑functional teams, including AI experts, robotics engineers, and optical engineers, to deliver reliable edge solutions.

Preferred qualifications:

We do not expect candidates to have all of the following. Experience in any of these areas will help you stand out.

• Master’s or PhD in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.
• Experience with object detection, target tracking, 3D reconstruction, SLAM, camera calibration, or behaviour analysis.
• Background in automated video surveillance or other related real‑time vision systems.
• Familiarity with industry‑standard vision toolkits, such as OpenCV.
• Exposure to deep learning methodologies for image classification, recognition, or sequence modelling.
• Practical experience integrating deep learning models into broader computer vision systems for real‑time deployment scenarios.
• Previous experience in the Defence sector, autonomous unmanned systems, or similar mission‑critical domains.

#LI-LD1

#LC

Salary compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, licenses and certifications, and specific work location. All offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check.

Shield AI is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, colour, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.