Sensing & Perception Engineer

W a R D S T O N E; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Wardstone is seeking a Sensing and Perception Engineer to own the full sensing system, from sensor selection to real-time target tracking. You will bridge sensor hardware, computer vision, embedded systems, and vehicle guidance.

You will work with the founders, build test rigs, run high-speed experiments, and ship perception systems into hardware that enables real intercepts and precise guidance—an impactful role in defense aviation.

Qualifications

• BS in EE/CS/Physics/Robotics or related field
• Strong experience with IR/EO cameras and Radar
• Deep proficiency in computer vision (OpenCV, NumPy, SciPy, C++/Python)
• Experience implementing real-time detection and tracking
• Understanding of signal processing, filtering, sensor fusion, and coordinate transforms
• Hands-on testing with thermal cameras, radar, calibration targets
• US Person or Lawful Permanent Resident status required

Responsibilities

• IR & EO sensor integration into avionics architecture
• Own sensor selection, FOV analysis, lensing, calibration workflows, driver integration
• Develop high-reliability camera interfaces: SPI/I2C, MIPI, USB3, Ethernet, GMSL
• Build perception pipelines capable of tracking high-speed objects with low latency
• Implement target detection, centroid extraction, filtering, gating, motion-compensation
• Develop robust tracking under noise, glare, HDR, and high dynamic range
• Fuse IR/EO data with IMU, GPS, and onboard state estimators
• Build perception-to-guidance interfaces for closed-loop control
• Build EKF/UKF filters, temporal alignment, and prediction modules
• Design sensor test rigs and conduct hardware-in-the-loop tests
• Collect, label, and analyze high-speed footage from ground/flight tests
• Stress-test perception under temperature, vibration, and shock

Skills

IR/EO camera systems

Real-time detection

Tracking algorithms

Computer vision

Sensor fusion

Embedded systems

C++/Python

Education

Bachelor's in EE/CS/Physics/Robotics

Tools

OpenCV

NumPy

SciPy

CUDA

TensorRT

Embedded systems

Job description

Overview

Wardstone is looking for a Sensing and Perception Engineer to own Wardstone’s entire sensing system from sensor selection and integration to low-level image pipelines to real-time target tracking. You will work at the intersection of sensor hardware, computer vision algorithms, embedded systems, optics, and vehicle guidance.

This role is central to Wardstone’s mission. Your system determine whether an interceptor knows where to go!

You will work directly with founders, build test rigs, run high-speed experiments, and ship perception systems into hardware that performs real intercepts.

What You’ll Do

IR & EO Sensor Integration

• Integrate sensor modules into avionics architecture.
• Own sensor selection, FOV analysis, lensing, NUC, calibration workflows, and driver integration.
• Develop high-reliability camera interfaces: SPI/I2C, MIPI, USB3, Ethernet, GMSL, or custom buses.

Real-Time Computer Vision & Tracking

• Build perception pipelines capable of tracking high-speed objects with extremely low latency.
• Implement target detection, centroid extraction, filtering, gating, and motion-compensation algorithms.
• Develop robust tracking under noise, flare, thermal clutter, high dynamic range, and glint effects.

Sensor Fusion & Estimation

• Fuse IR/EO data with IMU, GPS, and onboard state estimators.
• Work with controls engineers to build perception-to-guidance interfaces for closed loop control.
• Build EKF/UKF filters, temporal alignment, and prediction modules.

Verification & Validation

• Design sensor test rigs: hot/cold targets, blackbody references, collimators, high-G mounts.
• Conduct hardware-in-the-loop tests with simulated targets, scene generators, and flight dynamics models.
• Collect, label, and analyze high-speed footage from ground+flight experiments, HAB flights, and tracking tests.
• Stress-test perception under temperature, vibration, and shock conditions.

Required Qualifications

• B.S. in EE, CS, Physics, Robotics, or similar.
• Strong experience with IR/EO camera systems, Radar, imaging physics, calibration, and noise modeling.
• Deep proficiency in computer vision (OpenCV, NumPy, SciPy, C++/Python).
• Experience implementing real-time detection and tracking algorithms.
• Understanding of signal processing, filtering, sensor fusion, and coordinate transforms.
• Hands-on testing experience using thermal cameras, radar, calibration targets, or optical equipment.
• Experience working with LWIR sensors (FLIR Boson/Tau, ULIS, Teledyne, etc.) or Radar Units.
• US Person or Lawful Permanent Resident status required.

Nice to Haves

• Background in missile seekers, UAV tracking, air-to-air systems, or autonomous robotics under high speed.
• Experience with GPU acceleration (CUDA, TensorRT), embedded systems, or FPGA-based vision pipelines.
• Familiarity with optical modeling, lens design, radiometry, and atmospheric attenuation.
• Knowledge of IR scene modeling, signature tracking, or synthetic target generation.
• Experience with high-dynamic-range thermal environments or high-G mount design.
• Exposure to defense/aerospace sensor standards or MIL-STD environments.