Chief CV/ML Engineer

Allen Control Systems•Austin, TX

About The Position

Chief Computer Vision & Machine Learning Engineer for Autonomous Anti-Drone Systems Company Overview: Allen Control Systems (ACS) is a cutting-edge defense startup founded by two former Navy electrical engineers with a proven track record in robotics and software. We are developing an autonomous gun turret using advanced computer vision and control systems to precisely detect, track, and neutralize enemy drones. With an engineering-first culture, ACS values technical excellence and innovation. Backed by our founders' successful exits from two previous venture acquired for a combined $180M in 2022, we are committed to ensuring that the groundbreaking technologies we develop will have a real-world impact. About The Role: We are looking for a Chief Engineer, Computer Vision/Machine Learning to own technical direction and architecture for the CV/ML systems at the core of our autonomous gun turret. Working with our VP of AI and CV/ML Engineering Managers and individual contributors, you will set the technical strategy for real-time drone detection, tracking, and classification, and see it through from architecture to fielded, military-grade systems. This is a senior technical leadership role: your time will center on architecture, design review, and the hardest technical problems on the program, with a small group of senior engineers reporting to you.

Requirements

Deep expertise and 15+ years of experience in machine-learning-based computer vision and traditional image and signal processing, ideally in robotics, including systems deployed in real-time or safety-critical applications.
A track record of owning the architecture of a complex perception or autonomy system across multiple years and releases, from initial design through production hardening.
Demonstrated ability to set technical direction that other teams execute against, and to drive alignment through expertise and influence as well as authority.
Experience mentoring and leading senior team members, whether as a formal manager or as a principal-level technical leader.
At least a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field, with a strong focus on machine learning and computer vision.
Strong command of Python and C++ and modern ML frameworks such as PyTorch or TensorFlow, with the depth to review and guide work across the stack even where you are not writing the code yourself.
Comfort operating in a fast-moving, engineering-first environment where architecture decisions carry hard real-world consequences.

Nice To Haves

Prior experience as a Principal Engineer, Chief Engineer, or technical director for a perception, autonomy, or weapons/aerospace program.
Ph.D. in computer vision, machine learning, or related fields.
Experience with object detection and tracking in challenging real-world conditions such as small targets, cluttered backgrounds, or low-contrast imagery.
Background in defense, aerospace, or autonomous systems where performance and reliability requirements are non-negotiable.
Experience architecting systems for edge hardware such as NVIDIA Jetson or similar embedded GPU platforms, or with multi-sensor fusion across modalities such as optical and infrared cameras.
Experience taking a system through field testing, hardware integration cycles, and production hardening, not just software-only development.

Responsibilities

Own the technical roadmap and architecture for the CV/ML stack, setting direction that Engineering Managers and their teams execute against.
Make and document the consequential technical decisions: sensor and compute architecture, model strategy, real-time performance tradeoffs, and how the perception system evolves across weapon system variants and engagement ranges.
Personally drive the hardest and most ambiguous technical problems on the program, from concept through field validation.
Lead a small group of senior CV/ML engineers, and mentor senior and staff engineers and managers across the broader team through design review and technical guidance.
Partner with the VP of AI and Engineering Managers to align technical strategy with product goals, delivery commitments, and hiring plans.
Set and uphold the technical quality bar across the CV/ML organization through architecture review, design review, and validation standards.