Engineer number one

Aelir Inc.; Orlando (FL); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity vesting over four years with a

one-year cliff

Job summary

Aelir Inc. in Orlando, FL is seeking a Senior Perception Engineer to own the perception stack end to end for maritime sensor fusion. The role focuses on integrating radar, cameras, AIS, and acoustic sensors into a real-time, sealed-edge system with Jetson-class hardware and no cloud fallback.

You will lead embedded Linux development in C++/Python, ROS 2, and real-time data association, with sea trials and marine hardening, working under ITAR constraints.

Qualifications

• 4+ years building production perception, tracking, or sensor fusion systems (or equivalent depth from research).
• Strong modern C++ and Python.
• Probabilistic robotics: Kalman filters, particle filters, factor graphs, data association.
• Real-time systems experience and ROS 2.
• U.S. person (U.S. citizen or permanent resident); ITAR-controlled work.

Responsibilities

• Own multi-sensor fusion architecture: radar, EO/IR, sonar, AIS, and acoustic sensors.
• Real-time multi-target tracking, data association, and track lifecycle management.
• Jetson platform bring-up: board support, sensor drivers, and system integration.
• ROS 2 middleware and software architecture.
• Marine hardening for life at sea; power management under tight budgets.
• Sea trials and field debugging to validate against ground truth.

Skills

C++

Python

ROS 2

Real-time systems

Tools

Embedded Linux

Jetson platform

TensorRT

Networking basics

Job description

Senior Perception Engineer, Maritime Sensor Fusion

The role

You own the perception stack end to end. Our first product, Aelir One, is a helm node for Jetson-class edge hardware. Today the fusion engine combines AIS, camera and pod reports into one tracked picture and checks AIS against sensors; radar, sonar and underwater acoustics are the inputs you would help add. The fusion problem is the core technical bet of the company, and it is yours to solve.

What you will own

• Multi-sensor fusion architecture: radar, EO/IR cameras, sonar, AIS, and acoustic sensors into one track picture
• Multi-target tracking, data association, and track lifecycle management in real time
• Time synchronization and calibration across sensors running at disparate rates on a flexing, vibrating hull
• Real-time performance inside a 15 to 30 watt compute budget with no cloud fallback
• Edge deployment: quantization, TensorRT, and latency budgeting
• Sea trials: get on the water, validate against ground truth, and iterate fast

What you bring

• 5+ years building production perception, tracking, or sensor fusion systems (or equivalent depth from research)
• Strong modern C++ and Python
• Probabilistic robotics: Kalman filters, particle filters, factor graphs, data association
• Real-time systems experience and ROS 2
• You must be a U.S. person (U.S. citizen or permanent resident); this work is ITAR-controlled

Nice to have

• Maritime, defense, or autonomous vehicle background
• CUDA and TensorRT edge deployment experience
• Direct experience with radar, EO/IR, or sonar sensing

The role

You own the machine the intelligence runs on. Our first product, Aelir One, is a helm node built on Jetson-class edge hardware that must survive salt, vibration, and heat while fusing a full sensor suite in real time. You make the perception stack real on the boat.

What you will own

• Jetson platform bring-up: board support, sensor drivers, and system integration
• ROS 2 middleware and the software architecture around it
• Vessel-to-vessel pod mesh networking, working with our systems advisor
• Marine hardening: salt, vibration, humidity, and thermal design for life at sea
• Power management inside tight budgets, including EMCON and comms-denied operation
• Sea trials and field debugging: when it breaks on the water, you fix it on the water
• Open standards: Signal K and NMEA 2000 integration

What you bring

• 4+ years building on embedded Linux in C++ and Python
• ROS 2 and real hardware integration: sensors, drivers, and the debugging that comes with them
• Networking fundamentals; you will extend into mesh networking on the job
• You must be a U.S. person (U.S. citizen or permanent resident); this work is ITAR-controlled

Nice to have

• RF and communications experience, including jam-resistant networking

Onsite in Orlando, FL, at the center of the nation's modeling, simulation, and training corridor. Equity vests over four years with a one-year cliff.

Who thrives here

Mission-driven

You care about the deterrence mission, not just the paycheck.

Builder proof

You have built things on your own time and money, because you wanted them to exist.

Field-ready

Sea trials are not optional. You will get on the boat.

High agency

You own problems end to end. There is no one to hide behind.