Lead AI/ML Engineer, Autonomous Flight Systems (Remote)

Placements24; Centurion; Hybrid; ZAR 2,988,000 - 3,983,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity options

Health insurance

Retirement plan

Unlimited PTO

Professional development

Remote-friendly/fully distributed team

High-performance computing resources

Job summary

Placements24 is seeking a Principal AI/ML Engineer to lead R&D for autonomous flight systems. This fully remote role focuses on developing AI/ML models for perception, navigation, and control of autonomous aircraft.

You will mentor engineers, publish findings, and collaborate across software, hardware, and systems teams to deploy production-ready AI capabilities. The position emphasizes innovation and rigorous safety standards.

Qualifications

• PhD or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Aerospace Engineering, or a related quantitative field.
• 10+ years of AI/ML research and development, preferably in robotics, autonomous systems, or aerospace.
• Proficiency in Python and C++, with ML frameworks such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, and scikit-learn.
• Strong theoretical and practical understanding of ML techniques including deep learning, reinforcement learning, Bayesian methods, and probabilistic modeling.
• Experience with large-scale data processing and distributed computing (e.g., Spark).
• Proven ability to lead technical projects, mentor team members, and drive innovation in a remote setting.
• Excellent communication skills to articulate complex concepts to diverse audiences.
• Experience deploying ML models into production environments.
• Experience with aerospace systems, flight dynamics, or control systems is a strong plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, and deployment of AI/ML algorithms for autonomous flight control and decision-making.
• Research deep learning, reinforcement learning, computer vision, and sensor fusion for aerospace applications.
• Develop and maintain data pipelines for training and evaluating ML models on large aerospace datasets.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to integrate AI/ML into flight platforms.
• Validate and verify performance and safety of AI/ML models through simulation and real-world testing.
• Mentor junior engineers and foster a culture of innovation in the AI/ML team.
• Publish research findings in top-tier conferences and journals and represent the company at technical forums.
• Stay updated on AI/ML advancements and their aerospace applications.
• Ensure compliance with industry standards and safety regulations for autonomous systems.

Skills

Mentoring

Leadership

Communication

Remote collaboration

Education

PhD or Master’s in CS/AI/ML/Aerospace

Tools

Python

C++

TensorFlow

PyTorch

scikit-learn

Spark

Bayesian methods

Job description

Placements24 is seeking a Principal AI/ML Engineer to lead R&D for autonomous flight systems. This fully remote role focuses on developing AI/ML models for perception, navigation, and control of autonomous aircraft.

You will mentor engineers, publish findings, and collaborate across software, hardware, and systems teams to deploy production-ready AI capabilities. The position emphasizes innovation and rigorous safety standards.