Senior Software Engineer (Perception)

TL;DR

Senior Software Engineer (Perception): Lead development of perception systems for autonomous VTOL unmanned aircraft with an accent on visual-inertial odometry, object detection, multi-object tracking, and sensor fusion. Focus on translating research into production-ready edge-deployed systems resilient to GPS-denied, dynamic, and contested environments.

Location: Onsite in Torrance, CA. Must be U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident (ITAR/EAR restrictions, no sponsorship)

Salary: $132k–$183k

Company

hirify.global, a subsidiary of Red Cat Holdings, develops advanced unmanned aircraft systems for defense, public safety, and government security applications integrating edge compute with robotics software.

What you will do

• Own architecture and development of perception stack including sensing, state estimation, and scene understanding for autonomous VTOL systems
• Design and implement core capabilities like VIO for GPS-denied navigation, object detection/classification, multi-object tracking, and multi-sensor fusion
• Translate state-of-the-art research into production systems balancing performance, reliability, and edge hardware constraints
• Define interfaces with autonomy, controls, and flight software; drive real-time processing and data pipelines
• Build robust systems for real-world challenges; develop datasets, evaluation pipelines, and simulation environments
• Lead flight test integration, scale engineering team, mentor engineers, and collaborate with hardware/external partners

Requirements

• Bachelor's in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Robotics, Aerospace Engineering or related
• 5+ years developing perception, robotics, or autonomy systems; research-to-production experience
• Strong computer vision, state estimation, sensor fusion; hands-on VIO, SLAM, object detection, multi-object tracking
• Strong C++/Python for real-time systems; multi-sensor experience (cameras, IMUs, thermal); hardware integration
• ROS 2, OpenCV, GStreamer; coordinate frames and spatial reasoning
• U.S. Citizenship or Permanent Residency required (ITAR/EAR); background check; E-Verify

Nice to have

• Robotics stacks (PX4, ROS2, MAVLink); UAS/aerospace software
• Edge platforms (NVIDIA Jetson, Qualcomm); event-based cameras
• GPS-denied navigation, low-light/contested environments; simulation/evaluation pipelines

Culture & Benefits

• Equity package and potential bonuses
• Physical work in facilities with PPE; occasional off-hours/weekends
• EEO employer; criminal history considered per law