Senior Machine Learning Engineer

SR2 | Socially Responsible Recruitment | Certified B Corporation™; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Meaningful equity package

Health, dental, and vision insurance

Paid time off

Job summary

A cutting-edge defense technology startup in Austin is seeking an AI Engineer to lead the development of real-time perception and autonomy systems. This hands-on role focuses on integrating AI with flight control and creating robust models using advanced techniques like PyTorch and TensorFlow. Candidates should possess solid experience in C++ and Python, demonstrating their capability to operate in fast-paced environments that require both technical expertise and innovative thinking. Meaningful equity, benefits, and the opportunity to work on pioneering AI solutions are offered.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD in Computer Science, Robotics, AI, or related field.
• Strong proficiency in C++ (for real-time systems).
• Strong proficiency in Python.
• Deep experience with PyTorch and/or TensorFlow.
• Experience integrating perception with control systems or robotics platforms.
• Understanding of flight control systems or autonomous vehicle control.
• Experience working with VLLMs or multimodal transformer architectures.
• Strong grasp of optimization for edge or embedded hardware.
• Ability to work in fast-moving, hardware-integrated environments.

Responsibilities

• Design and deploy real-time computer vision pipelines for detection, tracking, and classification.
• Develop and train models using PyTorch and TensorFlow.
• Integrate AI perception with flight control and targeting systems.
• Write high-performance C++ for real-time systems.
• Debug and optimize latency-critical code paths.

Job description

About Us

We are a venture-backed defense technology startup founded by former Navy engineers with deep expertise in robotics, control systems, and software. We are building autonomous defense platforms that combine real-time flight control, advanced perception, and intelligent decision‑making to counter emerging aerial threats.

Our systems operate in high-speed, safety‑critical environments where reliability and performance matter. We maintain an engineering‑first culture focused on technical depth, rapid iteration, and real‑world deployment.

If you want to build AI systems that move beyond demos and operate in dynamic physical environments, this is that opportunity.

The Role

We are seeking a highly capable AI Engineer to lead development of real-time perception and autonomy systems. You will work at the intersection of:

• Flight control
• Deep learning
• Real‑time C++ systems

This is a hands‑on engineering role focused on deployment, optimization, and real‑world performance — not just research experimentation.

What You’ll Do

Perception & Computer Vision

• Design and deploy real‑time computer vision pipelines for detection, tracking, and classification
• Develop and train models using PyTorch and TensorFlow
• Deploy and optimize neural networks in production environments
• Work with Vision‑Language Models (VLLMs) for scene understanding, contextual reasoning, and operator‑assist capabilities
• Implement model compression, quantization, and acceleration strategies

Flight Control & Autonomy

• Integrate AI perception with flight control and targeting systems
• Develop decision‑making and control algorithms in C++ and Python
• Work closely with control systems engineers to ensure stable, responsive autonomous behavior
• Validate performance in simulation and real‑world test environments

Software Engineering

• Write high‑performance C++ for real‑time systems
• Build supporting tools and experimentation frameworks in Python
• Debug and optimize latency‑critical code paths
• Collaborate cross‑functionally with electrical, mechanical, and embedded teams

What We’re Looking For

• Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD in Computer Science, Robotics, AI, or related field
• Strong proficiency in C++ (for real‑time systems)
• Strong proficiency in Python
• Deep experience with PyTorch and/or TensorFlow
• Experience integrating perception with control systems or robotics platforms
• Understanding of flight control systems or autonomous vehicle control
• Experience working with VLLMs or multimodal transformer architectures
• Strong grasp of optimization for edge or embedded hardware
• Ability to work in fast‑moving, hardware‑integrated environments

Nice to Have

• Experience with UAVs, drones, or robotic platforms
• Knowledge of sensor fusion (Kalman filters, state estimation, SLAM)
• CUDA or GPU acceleration experience
• Familiarity with ROS or similar robotics frameworks
• Experience operating AI systems in degraded or adversarial environments
• Background in safety‑critical or defense systems

What We Offer

• Meaningful equity package
• Health, dental, and vision insurance
• Paid time off
• The opportunity to deploy AI systems in real‑world autonomous platforms alongside a high‑calibre engineering team