{"id":738351,"url":"https://alion.io/job/9mothers-perception-engineer-senior","title":"Perception Engineer, Senior","company":{"id":669487,"name":"9Mothers","domain":"9mothers.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/9mothers","size_band":null,"is_staffing_agency":false,"is_intermediary":false,"ats_vendor":"Ashby","truth_index":{"grade":"B","score":75,"open_postings":3,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":1,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":null,"computed_at":"2026-09-23T05:45:00Z"}},"role":"Industrial Engineering","role_family":"Industrial Engineering","seniority":"senior","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Austin, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":150000,"max":250000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":250000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":6,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"C++","optional":false},{"name":"Computer Vision","optional":false},{"name":"JAX","optional":false},{"name":"Machine Learning","optional":false},{"name":"Python","optional":false},{"name":"PyTorch","optional":false},{"name":"PyTorch C++","optional":false},{"name":"Quantization","optional":false},{"name":"Rust","optional":false},{"name":"Synthetic Data","optional":false},{"name":"TensorRT","optional":false},{"name":"Microsoft Teams","optional":true},{"name":"Multimodal AI","optional":true},{"name":"Sensor Fusion","optional":true},{"name":"Sim-to-Real","optional":true}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-04-23T19:38:52Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-04-23","last_verified_at":"2026-09-23T23:07:53Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":153,"trust":{"level":"stale","repost_count":0,"flags":["stale"],"days_open":152},"description":"Location: Onsite - Austin, TX\nEmployment Type: Direct Hire, Full-Time\nJob Title: Perception Engineer\nAbout 9 Mothers\nThe modern battlefield has changed. Cheap, autonomous suicide drones have turned the tactical advantage upside down, and the world is looking for a solution. At 9 Mothers, we aren’t just \"innovating\"-we are building the shield.\nBacked by top-tier investors, we develop AI powered machines designed to intercept and neutralize Group 1/sUAS threats in real-time. Our flagship product is a low-power, counter-drone system built for the edge-on vehicles, at bases, or in a soldier's pack.\nWhy 9 Mothers?\nWhile others build for \"awareness\" or \"long-term research,\" we build for the immediate survival of those in harm’s way. We are a team of hackers, engineers, and mission-driven builders who value field-ready capability over polished slide decks. If you want to see your code or hardware in the field next month-not next year-this is your playground.\nPosition Summary\n9 Mothers is seeking a Perception Engineer to own the computer vision and machine learning stack that powers target detection, classification, and tracking in our counter-sUAS systems. The Perception Lead is responsible for the research, development, and deployment of the perception pipeline that enables EDDA to engage aerial threats in real time. This is a senior individual contributor position.\nEssential Duties\nOwn the visual perception pipeline end-to-end, including detection, classification, and tracking of sUAS targets in real time.\n\nDesign and train machine learning models that meet latency and accuracy requirements for edge deployment on Jetson-class hardware.\n\nArchitect and maintain the dataset and simulation pipeline, including data collection, labeling, curation, augmentation, synthetic data generation, and closed-loop retraining based on field performance.\n\nOptimize inference performance on Jetson platforms, including model pruning, quantization, TensorRT integration, and custom kernel development as required.\n\nEstablish the model evaluation framework and metrics used to assess perception performance under operational conditions.\n\nDeliver target state information (position, velocity, identity, uncertainty) to the controls subsystem.\n\nCollaborate with the hardware team on camera, optics, and sensor selection.\n\nRequirements\n6+ years of professional experience in computer vision or machine learning, including production deployment on edge hardware.\n\nDemonstrated experience shipping a detection or tracking system under real-world latency, small-object, or adversarial constraints.\n\nStrong engineering skills beyond modeling, including experience with PyTorch or JAX through to deployed, optimized inference.\n\nProficiency in Python for model development and C++ or Rust for deployed inference.\n\nU.S. citizenship and ability to pass a background check.\n\nNice-to-Have\nExperience working with infrared (IR), thermal, or multi-spectrum camera systems.\n\nTensorRT and NVIDIA Jetson deployment experience at production scale.\n\nMulti-object tracking under challenging conditions.\n\nMulti-modal sensor fusion experience (EO/IR, radar, acoustic).\n\nSynthetic data generation and sim-to-real methodologies.\n\nPrior experience in defense or other safety-critical computer vision applications.\n\nActive security clearance, or eligibility to obtain one.\n\nA passion for building robots or engineering projects as a hobby.\n\nBenefits\nMeaningful Early Equity: You aren't just an employee; you are a foundational owner. Your contributions directly drive the value of your stake in the company.\n\nDirect Roadmap Influence: Forget the bureaucracy of big defense. You will have a seat at the table, directly shaping our product and technology trajectory from day one.\n\nMission-Critical Work: We don't build for \"what if.\" We build systems the Department of War actively needs to counter immediate, real-world threats.\n\nThe Builder's Playground: Work in a brand-new lab fully optimized for rapid prototyping, equipped with NVIDIA Jetsons, high-end scopes, and 3-D printers.\n\n100% Employer-Paid Premiums: We cover 100% of your medical, dental, and vision insurance premiums and cover 50% of healthcare premiums for your dependents.\n\nUnlimited PTO: We value results, not clock-watching. Take the time you need to stay sharp and recharge.\n\nZero Red Tape: You have the autonomy to make technical decisions that would take months of committee approval at a larger firm.\n\nAustin-Based Culture: Join an onsite team in Austin, TX, where we prioritize high-bandwidth collaboration and rapid field-testing.\n\nRelocation Assistance: We want the best talent in the room. If you aren't in Austin yet, we’ll help you get here, to make your transition to the Silicon Hills seamless.\n\nAbout the Interview\nInitial Screening with recruiter - 30 min phone call\n\n1st Round Virtual Interview - peer engineer + either Director or CTO (1.5hr via MS Teams)\n\n2nd Round Onsite Interview - CTO + Director + VP + peer(s) (~ 6 hours in-person) **will fly out candidates that are not local\n\nReference checks & offer\n\nEqual Employment Opportunity\n9 Mothers is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status.\nExport Control\nThis position may require access to information or technology subject to U.S. export control laws and regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). U.S. citizenship is required.","description_format":"text","description_chars":5577,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":6,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":null,"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Equity","Relocation assistance","Unlimited PTO","Vision insurance"],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"United States","iso":"US","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":true,"industries":["Military","Drones & UAVs","Military Drones"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-11T11:51:38Z"}],"liveness":{"score":8,"band":"cold","label":"Long shot","p_open":1,"p_active":0.27,"p_room":0.28,"age_days":152,"expected_fill_days":26,"reasons":["conf:1","win:tail","crowd:"],"computed_at":"2026-09-23T05:45:00Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":250000,"is_top_pay":true},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/9mothers-perception-engineer-senior","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/9mothers-perception-engineer-senior.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-09-24T02:03:08Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers"}}