Chief Computer Vision Engineer Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Job Summary:
T3i, Inc. builds mission-critical unmanned systems designed to improve U.S. forces' operational effectiveness. They are seeking a Computer Vision Engineer to develop the Blackfoot’s perception and visual autonomy stack, focusing on delivering robust onboard vision capabilities in challenging environments.
Responsibilities:
• Design, train, evaluate, and deploy computer vision models for detection, classification, segmentation, tracking, and re-identification of ground and aerial targets
• Develop and harden visual-inertial odometry (VIO), visual SLAM, and GPS-denied navigation capabilities for tactical FPV operations
• Build and maintain target lock, terminal guidance, and last-mile autonomy perception pipelines aligned with operational mission requirements
• Write custom computer vision algorithms from scratch where library implementations don't meet platform constraints (real-time, embedded, adversarial conditions)
• Own camera and sensor integration: calibration workflows, intrinsic/extrinsic estimation, multi-sensor synchronization, and image pipeline development across RGB, thermal/IR, and stereo modalities
• Optimize models for real-time inference on embedded edge compute platforms (NVIDIA Jetson, Hailo, Ambarella, Qualcomm, or similar) using TensorRT, ONNX, quantization, pruning, and distillation techniques
• Write production-quality C++ and Python inference code integrated with onboard flight software and autonomy stacks; apply GPU/CUDA programming for accelerated processing where required
• Curate, label, and manage flight-collected datasets; build data pipelines for ingestion, augmentation, versioning, and retraining
• Establish evaluation frameworks and validate perception capabilities across the full test stack: unit tests, simulation, software-in-the-loop, hardware-in-the-loop, and live flight testing
• Collaborate with autonomy, flight software, and hardware teams to define camera, sensor, and compute requirements; make pragmatic engineering tradeoffs under SWaP constraints
• Support flight-test campaigns by analyzing onboard video, telemetry, and inference logs to diagnose model failures and prioritize improvements
• Investigate and integrate emerging techniques in foundation models, multimodal perception, sensor fusion, and on-device learning where they advance platform capability
• Harden perception against degraded visual conditions (low light, dust, motion blur, occlusion) and against GPS-denied, EW-contested, and visually adversarial environments
• Document algorithms, models, and pipelines to support team velocity, reproducibility, and customer deliverables
• Operate effectively in outdoor field environments, including supporting data collection events and live flight testing as required
Qualifications:
Required:
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, Applied Math, or related field
• 5+ years of hands-on experience developing and deploying computer vision systems (3+ years with an MS, or 2+ years with a PhD)
• Strong proficiency in modern C++ (C++17 or later) and Python, including writing high-performance code for real-time systems
• Demonstrated experience writing custom computer vision algorithms - not solely applying existing libraries - optimized for real-time performance
• Deep experience with PyTorch or TensorFlow, including custom training pipelines, loss design, and large-scale dataset workflows
• Solid foundation in classical computer vision: camera calibration, multi-view geometry, feature detection/matching, optical flow, bundle adjustment, and pose estimation
• Solid foundation in modern deep learning architectures for vision (CNNs, transformers, detection/segmentation/tracking heads)
• Demonstrated experience deploying CV models to embedded or edge compute platforms with hard real-time and SWaP constraints
• Working knowledge of model optimization techniques: TensorRT, ONNX, quantization (INT8/FP16), pruning, distillation, and compiler-level tuning
• Experience with OpenCV, Eigen, Ceres, and standard CV/robotics tooling
• Experience building and maintaining data pipelines for image and video data at scale
• Ability to validate perception capabilities through simulation, SIL/HIL, and real-world flight test
• Ability to communicate technical results clearly to engineering, autonomy, and program stakeholders
• Ability to operate independently, take ownership of full algorithm lifecycle, and iterate rapidly against field feedback
• Comfortable working in an iterative R&D environment with rapidly changing requirements and priorities
• U.S. Person status required to support ITAR-controlled programs
Preferred:
• Master's or PhD in Computer Vision, Machine Learning, Robotics, or related field
• Prior experience developing perception or autonomy for UAS, robotics, autonomous vehicles, or defense platforms
• Experience with on-vehicle perception on dynamic platforms (high angular rates, rapid scene changes, motion blur)
• Experience with visual-inertial odometry (VIO), visual SLAM, and GPS-denied navigation
• Experience with single- and multi-object tracking (MOT), re-identification, and tracking through occlusion or sensor handoff
• Experience developing target lock, terminal guidance, or last-mile autonomy systems
• Experience with sensor fusion across camera, IMU, GNSS, radar, LiDAR, or thermal modalities
• Experience with thermal/IR imagery, low-light imaging, event-based vision, or stereo/RGB-D systems
• Experience with GPU/CUDA programming for accelerated computer vision processing
• Experience training and deploying foundation models, vision-language models, or self-supervised learning approaches
• Experience operating in GPS-denied, contested, or EW-affected environments
• Experience with synthetic data generation, sim-to-real transfer, or domain randomization (Unreal/Unity/Isaac Sim, Gazebo)
• Familiarity with NVIDIA Jetson Orin, Hailo, Ambarella, Qualcomm RB-series, or similar edge platforms
• Familiarity with DoD test ranges, COA operations, or military customer environments
• Active or prior security clearance
• Experience working in fast-paced defense or dual-use technology environments
• Publications, open-source contributions, or competition results (KITTI, COCO, nuScenes, etc.) demonstrating CV expertise
Company:
T3i is a manufacturing company that manufactures defense and space equipment. Founded in 2014, the company is headquartered in San Diego, USA, with a team of 201-500 employees. The company is currently Growth Stage.