{"id":692920,"url":"https://alion.io/job/zone5technologies-perception-simulation-engineer-iiiii","title":"Perception Simulation Engineer II/III","company":{"id":684780,"name":"Zone 5 Technologies","domain":"zone5technologies.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/zone5technologies","size_band":"1001-5000","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Greenhouse","truth_index":{"grade":"A","score":93,"open_postings":50,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":0.08,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":114,"computed_at":"2026-10-17T05:46:00Z"}},"role":"Robotics","role_family":"Robotics","seniority":"middle","employment_type":null,"work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":145000,"max":175000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":175000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":3,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"Blender","optional":false},{"name":"C++","optional":false},{"name":"CI/CD","optional":false},{"name":"Maya","optional":false},{"name":"Multimodal AI","optional":false},{"name":"PX4 SITL Simulator","optional":false},{"name":"Python","optional":false},{"name":"ROS","optional":false},{"name":"Sim-to-Real","optional":false},{"name":"Synthetic Data","optional":false},{"name":"TensorRT","optional":false},{"name":"Unreal Engine","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-08-04T21:12:55Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-08-04","last_verified_at":"2026-10-17T18:01:10Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":73,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":0,"flags":[],"days_open":73},"description":"At Zone 5 Technologies, we're redefining what's possible in unmanned aircraft systems. Our team of engineers and innovators is developing cutting-edge autonomous solutions that push the boundaries of UAS technology - solving complex challenges that matter.\nWe're building the future of UAS capabilities, and we're looking for exceptional talent to join us. If you're driven by hard problems, energized by rapid innovation, and ready to make an impact on next-generation flight systems, you belong here.\nWe are looking for a Perception Simulation Engineer to build the sensor-simulation and synthetic-data backbone of our Unreal Engine simulation environment. Where a general mission-simulation engineer builds worlds and vehicle dynamics, this role is focused specifically on making simulated perception good enough to develop and validate real perception and target-tracking software before flight - high-fidelity RGB and thermal (IR) camera models, sensor feeds streamed onto ROS 2 topics, and synthetic data pipelines that feed our detection, tracking, and Target State Estimation (TSE) stacks. \nYou will work at the seam between the Unreal Engine and perception pipelines, turning \"we can render a scene\" into \"we can trust the perception numbers coming out of the sim.\" This is a foundational effort. \nWe welcome both generalists and specialists-you do not need every skill listed below. \nResponsibilities: \nSynthetic Sensor Modeling (core of the role) \nBuild high-fidelity RGB and long-wave IR (thermal) camera models in Unreal Engine, and render both views from platform-mounted cameras. \nTune simulated camera output to match (or closely approximate) real-world camera performance - FOV, resolution, framerate, thermal response - driven by the specs of the sensors we actually fly (e.g. FLIR Boson / Boson+ LWIR). \nImplement realistic sensor noise, artifacts, motion blur, and failure modes so perception software is tested against hard cases, not clean renders. \nSupport camera articulation independent of vehicle orientation (gimbal/boresight), so control-envelope requirements can be derived directly from camera specs. \nROS 2 Integration \nPublish simulated camera imagery and sensor data onto ROS 2 topics using the shared strive_msgs / strive_interfaces contracts, so the same interface serves sim and hardware. \nImplement and test developer contracts and fulfill deterministic simulation requirements. \nFeed the perception pipeline and downstream Target State Estimation (TSE) with simulated sensor streams and ground-truth labels for evaluation. \nSynthetic Data & Target Simulation \nBuild synthetic-data generation and export pipelines (imagery + bounding boxes / segmentation / range + pose ground truth) suitable for training and evaluating detection, tracking, and TSE models. \nImplement target injection: spawn and drive targets (vehicles, people, infrastructure) with configurable motion, including dynamic add/remove during a running mission to simulate delayed deployments and dynamic scenarios. \nSupport target-hint / track integration based on ground based sensor tracking and ground-truth generation for scoring TSE accuracy (position/velocity/acceleration error). \nAsset & Scenario Pipeline \nOwn the process to import external target CAD (e.g. TurboSquid) and Zone 5 platform CAD into the sim as usable, correctly-scaled models. \nManage the 3D asset pipeline (models, materials, thermal material properties for the IR view). \nEnforce scenario-driven rules that need perception ground truth - e.g. inter-platform/target proximity and fratricide detection (position of each entity per timestep, squared-distance comparison against a scenario parameter for performance). \nPerformance & Scale \nOptimize rendering for real-time and accelerated modes; build headless simulation modes for large-scale parallel scenario execution. \nCollaborate with the platform team to run perception sim in CI/CD for continuous evaluation of perception/TSE software. \nQualifications: \nBachelor's in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Robotics, Game Development, or related field - equivalent industry experience welcome. \n3-6+ years developing in Unreal Engine with C++, including custom plugins/modules. \nWorking knowledge of ROS 2 and integrating it with a simulation environment. \nSolid grounding in 3D graphics, real-time rendering, and camera/sensor models - projection, FOV, framerate, noise, and how they affect a downstream vision algorithm. \nPractical understanding of camera-based perception (detection/tracking) and what makes synthetic imagery useful (or useless) for developing it. \nComfortable with software architecture, design patterns, and collaborative version-control workflows. \nPreferred: \nExperience building sensor simulation for robotics/autonomous vehicles, especially thermal/IR or multi-modal (EO/IR/lidar/radar) sensing. \nFamiliarity with synthetic data generation for ML perception (labels, sim-to-real gap, domain randomization). \nKnowledge of state estimation / multi-target tracking (Kalman/EKF, track-to-track association) enough to build meaningful TSE test scenarios. \nExperience with edge perception deployment (NVIDIA Jetson, TensorRT) and matching sim interfaces to on-target interfaces. \nFamiliarity with UAV flight dynamics (JSBSim/PX4 SITL), gimbal/boresight modeling, and camera-on-platform geometry. \nGPU programming / compute shaders; procedural terrain or environment generation. \nPython for tooling and data-pipeline automation; Blueprint for rapid prototyping. \n3D asset workflows (Blender/Maya) or photogrammetry; distributed/networked simulation. \nCI/CD for game-engine projects; deterministic / real-time simulation experience. \nPay range for this role\n$145,000—$175,000 USD\nWhat's in it for you:\nBenefits: \nCompetitive total compensation package \nComprehensive benefit package options include medical, dental, vision, life, and more.\n401k with company-match \n3 weeks of paid time off each year\n40 hours of sick time\n12 annual company holidays\nWhy Join Zone 5 Technologies?\nInnovative Environment: Work on cutting-edge technology that is shaping the future of defense and aerospace.\nCollaborative Culture: Join a team of passionate professionals dedicated to pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.\nCareer Growth: Opportunities for professional development and career advancement.\nIf you are passionate about unmanned aircraft technology and want to be a part of a dynamic and growing company, we would love to hear from you. Apply today and join the Zone 5 Technologies team! \nIn compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire. \nZone 5 Technologies is a federal contractor and participates in E-Verify to confirm employment eligibility. As required by law, we will verify the identity and employment authorization of all new employees using the E-Verify system. Learn more about your rights and responsibilities under E-Verify: https://www.e-verify.gov.","description_format":"text","description_chars":7076,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":3,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"bachelor","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["401k plan","Professional development"],"hiring_locations":[],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Drones & UAVs","Defense Manufacturing"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-11T01:26:29Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":67,"band":"ok","label":"Likely open","p_open":1,"p_active":0.745,"p_room":0.9,"age_days":73,"expected_fill_days":114,"reasons":["conf:0","win:mid"],"computed_at":"2026-10-17T05:46:00Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":175000,"is_top_pay":true},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/zone5technologies-perception-simulation-engineer-iiiii","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/zone5technologies-perception-simulation-engineer-iiiii.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-17T20:08:28Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":3698,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-18T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":684780},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=684780"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fzone5technologies-perception-simulation-engineer-iiiii"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fzone5technologies-perception-simulation-engineer-iiiii"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fzone5technologies-perception-simulation-engineer-iiiii"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/zone5technologies-perception-simulation-engineer-iiiii\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fzone5technologies-perception-simulation-engineer-iiiii"}]}