AI Team leader

We’re a fast-growing defense technology startup building next-generation AI-powered systems to enhance national security, autonomous operations, and tactical decision-making. Our mission is to apply cutting-edge research in AI and machine learning to solve real-world challenges in defense, surveillance, and secure communications.

Job Summary:

As AI Team leader, you will shape and execute the company’s AI strategy, overseeing the development and deployment of mission-critical machine learning systems.

You’ll lead a multidisciplinary team to deliver robust, explainable, and efficient AI solutions that power our core technologies—from autonomous vehicles and sensor fusion to computer vision, predictive analytics, and decision support.

Key Responsibilities:

🔹 AI Leadership & Strategy

• Define and drive the company’s AI roadmap aligned with defense-specific mission objectives.
• Identify breakthrough applications of AI for multi-domain operations (land, air, sea, cyber).
• Partner with product and engineering to prioritize and integrate AI across systems.

🔹 Team Building & Management

• Build and manage a world-class AI team including ML engineers, computer vision scientists, and data specialists.
• Foster a culture of excellence, mission focus, and technical innovation.

🔹 System Design & Deployment

• Lead development of real-time, edge-deployable AI models for drones, robotics, ISR, and command systems.
• Guide integration with hardware platforms and embedded systems under SWaP-C constraints.

🔹 R&D and Innovation

• Stay at the frontier of AI, particularly in areas like:
• Multi-modal sensor fusion (EO/IR, radar, RF)
• Reinforcement learning and autonomous agents
• Generative AI for synthetic data and simulations
• Collaborate with universities, research labs, and government customers.

🔹 Security, Compliance, and Ethics

• Ensure responsible AI practices in compliance with defense standards (e.g., DoD AI Ethical Principles).
• Work with legal and program managers to ensure AI systems meet classification, security, and export control requirements.

Qualifications:

• Master’s or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Electrical Engineering, or related field.
• 8+ years of hands-on AI/ML experience, including at least 3 years in a technical leadership role.
• Deep experience with one or more: computer vision, SLAM, sensor fusion, RL, or embedded AI.
• Strong background in deploying AI models in operational systems (e.g., drones, edge devices, tactical platforms).
• Familiarity with MLOps, real-time inference, and adversarial environments.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Prior work in defense, aerospace, or mission-critical systems.
• Publications, patents, or contributions to open-source AI/robotics tools.

Why Join Us?

• Be a foundational member of a company building real-world defense tech
• Lead projects with national impact and frontier-level innovation
• Competitive salary, equity, and benefits package
• Work with mission-driven engineers, researchers, and operators