9 Mothers

Location: Onsite — Austin, TXEmployment Type: Direct Hire, Full‑TimeJob Title: Perception EngineerAbout 9 MothersThe 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.Backed 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.Why 9 Mothers?While 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.Position Summary9 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.Essential Duties<ul><li>Own the visual perception pipeline end-to-end, including detection, classification, and tracking of sUAS targets in real time.</li><li>Design and train machine learning models that meet latency and accuracy requirements for edge deployment on Jetson-class hardware.</li><li>Architect and maintain the dataset and simulation pipeline, including data collection, labeling, curation, augmentation, synthetic data generation, and closed-loop retraining based on field performance.</li><li>Optimize inference performance on Jetson platforms, including model pruning, quantization, TensorRT integration, and custom kernel development as required.</li><li>Establish the model evaluation framework and metrics used to assess perception performance under operational conditions.</li><li>Deliver target state information (position, velocity, identity, uncertainty) to the controls subsystem.</li><li>Collaborate with the hardware team on camera, optics, and sensor selection.</li></ul>Requirements<ul><li>6+ years of professional experience in computer vision or machine learning, including production deployment on edge hardware.</li><li>Demonstrated experience shipping a detection or tracking system under real-world latency, small-object, or adversarial constraints.</li><li>Strong engineering skills beyond modeling, including experience with PyTorch or JAX through to deployed, optimized inference.</li><li>Proficiency in Python for model development and C++ or Rust for deployed inference.</li><li>U.S. citizenship and ability to pass a background check.</li></ul>Nice-to-Have<ul><li>Experience working with infrared (IR), thermal, or multi-spectrum camera systems.</li><li>TensorRT and NVIDIA Jetson deployment experience at production scale.</li><li>Multi-object tracking under challenging conditions.</li><li>Multi-modal sensor fusion experience (EO/IR, radar, acoustic).</li><li>Synthetic data generation and sim-to-real methodologies.</li><li>Prior experience in defense or other safety-critical computer vision applications.</li><li>Active security clearance, or eligibility to obtain one.</li></ul><ul><li>A passion for building robots or engineering projects as a hobby.</li></ul>Benefits<ul><li>Meaningful 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.</li><li>Direct 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.</li><li>Mission-Critical Work: We don't build for "what if." We build systems the Department of War actively needs to counter immediate, real-world threats.</li><li>The 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.</li><li>100% Employer-Paid Premiums: We cover 100% of your medical, dental, and vision insurance premiums and cover 50% of healthcare premiums for your dependents.</li><li>Unlimited PTO: We value results, not clock-watching. Take the time you need to stay sharp and recharge.</li><li>Zero Red Tape: You have the autonomy to make technical decisions that would take months of committee approval at a larger firm.</li><li>Austin-Based Culture: Join an onsite team in Austin, TX, where we prioritize high-bandwidth collaboration and rapid field-testing.</li><li>Relocation 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.</li></ul>About the Interview<ol><li>Initial Screening with recruiter - 30 min phone call</li><li>1st Round Virtual Interview - peer engineer + SWE Director (45 min via MS Teams)</li><li>2nd Round Onsite Interview - CTO + Director + VP + peer(s) (~ 6 hours in-person) **will fly out candidates that are not local</li><li>Reference checks &amp; offer</li></ol>9 Mothers Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) During the Interview ProcessThe interviewing process is a mutual opportunity for us to get to know each other better. Our goal is to understand your unique background, evaluate your problem-solving abilities, and ensure a strong mutual fit.AI is a core part of how we work at 9 Mothers—we actively encourage and frequently leverage AI tools in our day-to-day operations. However, during the hiring process, we need to evaluate your fundamental skills and expertise, not the outputs of an AI model.To ensure a fair and transparent process, we ask that you adhere to the following interview guidelines:<ul><li>1st-Round Interviews (No AI Allowed): The use of AI tools, assistants, code generation tools, or real-time copilots is strictly prohibited during all first-round interviews and assessments. The use of AI during this stage will result in immediate disqualification from the hiring process.</li><li>2nd-Round Interviews (Guided AI Usage): The second-round process includes opportunities to utilize AI. Your interview team will provide explicit guidance on how, when, and which AI tools to leverage during this stage.</li></ul>We appreciate your cooperation in helping us maintain an authentic and fair interview experience for everyone.

9 Mothers

Open jobs at 9 Mothers

Perception Engineer

Working for 9 Mothers?

Companies hiring in Data & AI