Lead AI Engineer

Location : Onsite — Austin, TX

Employment Type : Direct Hire, Full‑Time

Job Title : Lead AI Engineer

About 9 Mothers

The modern battlefield has changed. Cheap, autonomous suicide drones have turned the tactical advantage upside down, and the world is looking for a solution. At 9 Mothers, we aren’t just "innovating"—we are building the shield.

Backed by top-tier investors, we develop AI powered machines designed to intercept and neutralize Group 1/sUAS threats in real-time. Our flagship product is a low-power, counter-drone system built for the edge—on vehicles, at bases, or in a soldier's pack.

Why 9 Mothers?

While others build for "awareness" or "long-term research," we build for the immediate survival of those in harm’s way. We are a team of hackers, engineers, and mission-driven builders who value field-ready capability over polished slide decks. If you want to see your code or hardware in the field next month—not next year—this is your playground.

Position Summary

We are seeking a Lead AI Engineer to join a small, experienced team. You will be the computational “brain” behind our next‑generation counter‑small unmanned aerial systems (c‑sUAS).

We don’t use RAG, LLMs, or pre-built cloud APIs. Our stack requires building from the ground up to solve high-stakes problems under strict Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) constraints. You should be capable of building models from scratch and have a fundamental understanding of the problem space.

Essential Duties

• From-Scratch Modeling: Designing, training, and optimizing novel neural network architectures for threat classification and imitation learning-based control systems.

• Real-Time Execution: Deploying low-latency models to the edge (e.g., NVIDIA Jetson) where milliseconds determine the success of an interception.

• Sensor Fusion: Implementing robust techniques to interpret disparate data streams—radar, RF, acoustic, and optical—into a single world model.

• Anomaly Detection: Ensuring our systems identify custom-built, "zero-day" threats not found in any training set.

• Collaboration : Collaborate with the robotics and computer vision teams to ensure model output seamlessly translates into real‑time trajectory predictions for interceptor guidance.

Requirements

• Non-negotiable proficiency in Python and deep experience in PyTorch/TensorFlow AND understanding of the underlying linear algebra and calculus well enough to write core algorithms from scratch.

• Ability to thrive in a high-velocity environment where we "build-test-fail-repeat" daily.

• Understanding of the constraints of the "defense edge" and have practical experience optimizing models for resource-constrained hardware.

• U.S. Citizenship and the ability to pass a background check

Nice‑to‑Have

• Prior defense startup experience

• Passion for building robots or engineering projects as a hobby

Benefits

• Meaningful Early Equity: You aren't just an employee; you are a foundational owner. Your contributions directly drive the value of your stake in the company.

• Direct Roadmap Influence: Forget the bureaucracy of big defense. You will have a seat at the table, directly shaping our product and technology trajectory from day one.

• Mission-Critical Work: We don't build for "what if." We build systems the Department of War actively needs to counter immediate, real-world threats.

• The Builder's Playground: Work in a brand-new lab fully optimized for rapid prototyping, equipped with NVIDIA Jetsons, high-end scopes, and 3-D printers.

• 100% Employer-Paid Premiums: We cover 100% of your medical, dental, and vision insurance premiums and cover 50% of healthcare premiums for your dependents.

• Unlimited PTO: We value results, not clock-watching. Take the time you need to stay sharp and recharge.

• Zero Red Tape: You report to the founders. You have the autonomy to make technical decisions that would take months of committee approval at a larger firm.

• Austin-Based Culture: Join an onsite team in Austin, TX, where we prioritize high-bandwidth collaboration and rapid field-testing.

• Relocation Assistance: We want the best talent in the room. If you aren't in Austin yet, we’ll help you get here, to make your transition to the Silicon Hills seamless.

About the Interview

1. Application screen phone call (30 min)

2. Virtual interview with co-founder/CTO + Director of Engineering (45 min via MS Teams)

3. Paid take-home consulting agreement ($500, ~4-8 hours)

4. Review work

5. Virtual interview with co-founder/CEO (45 min via MS Teams)

6. In-person visit to Austin

7. Offer