Software and Autonomy Engineering Lead

Wild West Systems


Job Location:

Leander, TX - USA

Monthly Salary: Not Disclosed
Posted on: 2 hours ago
Vacancies: 1 Vacancy

Job Summary

Position Overview

We are seeking a Software and Autonomy Engineering Lead to own technical direction for our full autonomy software stack from embedded firmware through perception and into higher autonomous targeting behaviors. This role leads the engineering team building computer vision sensor fusion targeting and control systems that operate on constrained edge hardware in dynamic contested environments.

You will set architecture and coding standards across firmware and software mentor and grow the engineering team and personally develop perception and autonomy systems from prototyping through field deployment.

Responsibilities

Technical Leadership

  • Set technical direction and architecture standards spanning firmware and autonomy software
  • Lead mentor and help grow a small team of firmware and software engineers
  • Own build vs. buy and make vs. partner decisions for perception and autonomy components
  • Partner with hardware and program management on system-level tradeoffs

Perception & Autonomy

  • Develop and deploy real-time object detection classification and tracking systems for small fast-moving aerial and ground targets
  • Optimize models for edge deployment in constrained environments
  • Build multi-sensor perception pipelines that enable sensor fusion
  • Build robustness for real-world conditions
  • Integrate perception outputs into downstream tracking and effector control systems

Firmware & Systems Integration

  • Oversee firmware architecture for sensor drivers real-time OS scheduling and hardware controls
  • Ensure clean interfaces between firmware perception and targeting layers
  • Support field testing integration and troubleshooting across the full stack

Required Skills and Experience

  • Experience leading or mentoring a software/firmware engineering team
  • Experience with modern computer vision models and training/fine-tuning/deployment
  • Proven track record of edge model optimization
  • Experience with lead-angle calculation for computing aimpoint solutions from tracked target kinematics
  • Experience building human-in-the-loop control interfaces or state machines that facilitate automated tracking and operator authorization
  • Embedded/firmware experience: real-time OS sensor drivers and hardware management
  • Experience with real-time video pipelines and multi-sensor fusion
  • Experience with Hailo or similar edge AI accelerators
  • Python C &/OR Rust skills

Preferred Skills and Experience

  • Experience in kill chain methodologies edge perception and classification for specific target sets and an understanding of the trade-offs for different sensing modalities and wavelengths
  • Experience with hardware control loop algorithms for tracking and targeting
  • Experience with multi-object tracking and target fusion and arbitration
  • Prior experience in defense counter-UAS or small-UAS autonomy systems
  • Experience developing and/or working in .cu files

Required Experience:

Senior IC

Position OverviewWe are seeking a Software and Autonomy Engineering Lead to own technical direction for our full autonomy software stack from embedded firmware through perception and into higher autonomous targeting behaviors. This role leads the engineering team building computer vision sensor fusi...

About Company

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Wild West Systems is revolutionizing modern defense with autonomous drone solutions designed to protect critical assets. Discover how we’re shaping the future of security through innovation, scalability, and cutting-edge technology.

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