Location: Onsite — Austin, TX Employment Type: Direct Hire, Full‑Time Job Title: Perception Engineer About 9 Mothers The 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 Summary 9 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 • Own the visual perception pipeline end-to-end, including detection, classification, and tracking of sUAS targets in real time. • Design and train machine learning models that meet latency and accuracy requirements for edge deployment on Jetson-class hardware. • 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. • Optimize inference performance on Jetson platforms, including model pruning, quantization, TensorRT integration, and custom kernel development as required. • Establish the model evaluation framework and metrics used to assess perception performance under operational conditions. • Deliver target state information (position, velocity, identity, uncertainty) to the controls subsystem. • Collaborate with the hardware team on camera, optics, and sensor selection. Requirements • 6+ years of professional experience in computer vision or machine learning, including production deployment on edge hardware. • Demonstrated experience shipping a detection or tracking system under real-world latency, small-object, or adversarial constraints. • Strong engineering skills beyond modeling, including experience with PyTorch or JAX through to deployed, optimized inference. • Proficiency in Python for model development and C++ or Rust for deployed inference. • U.S. citizenship and ability to pass a background check. Nice-to-Have • Experience working with infrared (IR), thermal, or multi-spectrum camera systems. • TensorRT and NVIDIA Jetson deployment experience at production scale. • Multi-object tracking under challenging conditions. • Multi-modal sensor fusion experience (EO/IR, radar, acoustic). • Synthetic data generation and sim-to-real methodologies. • Prior experience in defense or other safety-critical computer vision applications. • Active security clearance, or eligibility to obtain one. • A passion for building robots or engineering projects as a hobby. Benefits • 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. • 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. • 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. • 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. • 100% Employer-Paid Premiums: We cover 100% of your medical, dental, and vision insurance premiums and cover 50% of healthcare premiums for your dependents. • Unlimited PTO: We value results, not clock-watching. Take the time you need to stay sharp and recharge. • Zero Red Tape: You have the autonomy to make technical decisions that would take months of committee approval at a larger firm. • Austin-Based Culture: Join an onsite team in Austin, TX, where we prioritize high-bandwidth collaboration and rapid field-testing. • 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. About the Interview • Initial Screening with recruiter - 30 min phone call • 1st Round Virtual Interview - peer engineer + SWE Director (45 min via MS Teams) • 2nd Round Onsite Interview - CTO + Director + VP + peer(s) (~ 6 hours in-person) **will fly out candidates that are not local • Reference checks & offer 9 Mothers Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) During the Interview Process The 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: • 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