Senior Perception Engineer
About this role
Developing production perception software that enables unmanned aircraft to detect, classify, and track targets from the air forms the core of daily operations. The engineering team builds computer vision systems operating on constrained onboard compute, handling detection, image-space tracking, and aimpoint selection across EO and thermal imagery. Neros Technologies creates defense technology and unmanned systems in Torrance, California, focusing on high-performance hardware iterated rapidly for deployment.
Operating as a senior individual contributor, the engineer reviews team designs and code while managing the full perception stack. Ideal candidates bring extensive background in production computer vision, real-time C++ and Python development, and field deployment of software on autonomous hardware.
What you will do
- Develop and deliver detection, classification, and image-space tracking for small targets in cluttered terrain.
- Extend the perception stack to IR and low-light imaging for night operations, including sensor frontend integration and performance characterization.
- Build onboard target search and candidate generation supporting operator authorization over narrowband links.
- Implement target discrimination to separate valid objects from civilian and friendly items while setting detection operating points.
- Define the perception output contract with calibrated confidence and explicit signaling of degraded sensor conditions.
- Deploy perception software to embedded compute alongside the platform team while managing accuracy and latency trade-offs.
- Define and maintain perception evaluation and regression test suites using logged flight data and provide technical reviews.
What you need
- Have at least five years of professional experience developing production computer vision or perception software.
- Demonstrate prior delivery of perception software onto physical systems operating in uncontrolled outdoor environments.
- Show expert proficiency in C++ and Python for production use under resource-constrained conditions.
- Bring depth in both classical and learned perception methods, including tracking and modern neural networks.
- Possess experience deploying neural networks to embedded accelerators with quantization and trade-off characterization.
- Display working knowledge of EO and IR thermal imaging, camera calibration, and sensor characteristics.
- Understand coordinate frames, sensor timing, synchronization, and uncertainty representation at perception interfaces.
Nice to have
- Experience with air-to-ground EO/IR imagery, or with airborne target acquisition, seeker, or automatic target recognition systems
- Experience selecting or integrating thermal/LWIR sensors, including the imaging and procurement trade-offs involved
- Experience building or contributing to a data engine for a fleet, covering large-scale log capture, indexing and search, dataset versioning, and labeling operations that feed model training
Benefits
- Highly competitive equity grants are considered part of Neros' total compensation package
Skills and tech stack
Questions candidates ask
What is the salary range for the Senior Perception Engineer role?
The salary range for this role is an estimate based on a wide range of compensation factors, inclusive of base salary only, spanning from $163,500 to $228,500 USD. Actual salary may vary based on work experience, education and training, critical skills, and business considerations.
Where is the position located?
The role is located in Torrance, California, United States.
What kind of systems will the engineer work on?
The engineer develops perception software that allows Neros unmanned aircraft to detect, classify, and track targets from the air, working across the full perception stack. This covers detection, classification, image-space tracking, and aimpoint selection on both EO and thermal imagery delivered onto constrained onboard compute.
The application is on the official Neros Technologies careers page.
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