AI/ Perception Engineer

Wild West Systems, Inc.; Leander (TX); On-site; USD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

Vision and Dental

401(k)

Job summary

Wild West Systems is seeking an AI / Perception Lead Engineer to own the perception layer of our autonomy stack. You will build real-time computer vision and sensor fusion systems that run on constrained edge hardware and deploy from concept → prototype → field deployment, working across software, hardware, and real-world testing.

This is not a research-only role. You will take perception systems through concept to field deployment, collaborating across disciplines and owning production-grade

Qualifications

• Experience with real-time CV models and sensor fusion for edge devices.
• Ability to train, fine-tune, and deploy perception models.
• Familiarity with edge inference optimization and embedded deployment.
• ITAR eligibility as described in the posting.

Responsibilities

• Develop and deploy real-time object detection, classification, and tracking systems.
• Improve robustness under real-world conditions (motion blur, occlusion, lighting).
• Integrate perception outputs into downstream autonomy systems.

Skills

YOLO

Transformers

Tracking systems

Edge inference

TensorRT

ONNX

Real-time video pipelines

Model training & deployment

Multi-object tracking

Roboflow pipelines

Embedded deployment

Hailo accelerators

Tools

ByteTrack

DeepSORT

Roboflow

TensorRT

ONNX

Job description

Wild West Systems is an American defense technology company with the mission to equip the civilized world with superior and affordable arms and advanced technologies - to dominate the battlefield of present and future threats, in a new era of asymmetrical warfare. We fuse versatile domain experience with novel approach and creativity to change the paradigm of defense - both for military arenas and civilian soft targets. We're an early stage startup, rapidly moving and growing.

About the Role

We are seeking an AI / Perception Lead Engineer to own and deliver the perception layer of our autonomy stack. This is a high-impact role focused on building real‑time computer vision and sensor fusion systems that operate reliably on constrained edge hardware in dynamic environments. This is not a research-only role. You will be responsible for taking perception systems from concept → prototype → field deployment, working across software, hardware, and real-world testing.

Responsibilities

• Develop and deploy real‑time object detection, classification, and tracking systems
• Improve robustness under real‑world conditions (motion blur, occlusion, lighting)
• Integrate perception outputs into downstream autonomy systems

Qualifications

• Deep love for America and passion for Wild West Systems' mission.
• Self‑starter, capable of performing tasks as an individual as well as working well in a team.
• Servant‑leader mentality, extreme ownership, willing to participate in different and rapidly changing projects in a dynamic environment.
• ITAR Requirement: To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.

Required Skills

• Strong experience with modern CV models (YOLO, transformers, tracking systems)
• Experience training, fine‑tuning, and deploying models
• Experience with edge inference optimization (TensorRT, ONNX, etc.)
• Experience working with real‑time video pipelines

Preferred Skills

• Experience with Hailo or similar accelerators
• Experience with multi‑object tracking (ByteTrack, DeepSORT)
• Experience with Roboflow or similar dataset pipelines
• Experience deploying models on embedded systems

Pay range and compensation package

This role is assigned onsite at our Leander, Texas location. In‑person work is required.

Equal Opportunity Statement

We are always looking for good people! Wild West Systems is committed to providing its employees with competitive salaries and benefits to increase employee satisfaction and productivity.

• Health Insurance: 100% coverage for employees, 90% for spouse/family
• Vision and Dental: 100% coverage
• 401(k): Available to all employees

***We do not work with staffing companies. Direct applicants only***