Software Engineer, Edge AI Systems

About the Role

Join a newly formed engineering team developing and deploying AI systems for use on tactical edge hardware. You will build and integrate models and autonomous systems that support defense customers operating in resource-constrained, high-stakes environments.

What You'll Do

• Train, fine-tune, and evaluate language models and agents for edge deployment.
• Optimize model and runtime performance across GPU, CPU, and specialized accelerator hardware.
• Design multi-agent systems and real-time data pipelines for mission scenarios.
• Integrate AI agents with heterogeneous sensors, effectors, and autonomous platforms, including drone systems.
• Develop real-time state estimation and AI-driven threat assessment capabilities to support rapid protective responses.
• Benchmark reliability and build scalable, fail-safe software for high-stakes operational environments.

What We're Looking For

• At least 4 years of software engineering experience in mission-critical or autonomous systems, plus 5+ years of professional software development experience.
• Strong proficiency in Rust and practical experience with Python and C++.
• Experience with LLM development and deployment using tools such as PyTorch, Hugging Face Transformers, LangChain, or vLLM, and edge optimization tools such as Ollama, Mojo, TVM, or TensorFlow Lite.
• Experience designing real-time sensor processing pipelines and integrating sensors, effectors, or autonomous platforms.
• Background in robotics, edge computing, defense, or related domains, with strong system design and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• A bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree in computer science or a related technical field, and an active U.S. security clearance or willingness and eligibility to obtain one.
• Authorized to work in the United States without employer sponsorship, and based in or willing to relocate to the Seattle area for a hybrid arrangement.

Compensation & Benefits

Salary range: $145,000 to $275,000 USD annually. Visa sponsorship is not available.

Location

Hybrid, primary location: Palo Alto, California, United States.