Senior ML/AI Engineer

About HEADBORNE.AI

Safe, mission-based AI solutions for first responders and defense.

HEADBORNE's long-term mission is to defend free democracies of the world with ethical, interoperable, mission-based safe AI solutions for first responders, defense forces, and decision makers. We build a secure, AI-driven Cloud/OS platform integrated in the next generations of AR smart glasses, helmets, drones, robots, and training systems. We seamlessly connect them across air, land, sea, space, and cyberspace, delivering complete situational awareness, control, and command.

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About the Role

HEADBORNE seeks a Senior Machine Learning/AI Engineer to join our rapidly growing core systems team. You will develop machine learning solutions for advanced sensor technology from concept through deployment—optimizing object detection algorithms and pioneering ML-based image enhancement techniques that push the boundaries of what our sensors can achieve. This is a hands-on, high-impact role spanning model architecture, data pipeline development, embedded deployment, and system-level performance optimization. Working closely with hardware and systems engineers, you’ll translate sensor capabilities into robust ML models that perform reliably in real-world conditions. We’re looking for a brilliant, motivated engineer to join TEAM HEADBORNE—delivering mission-based, safe AI solutions that matter.

Responsibilities

• Own and lead the development of ML models for object detection, tracking, and image enhancement on embedded platforms.

• Build and maintain scalable data pipelines for sensor data ingestion, training, and evaluation.

• Optimize inference performance for low-latency, low-power edge compute (GPU/CPU/NPU) environments.

• Integrate ML models into mission-critical systems for AR helmets, drones, and robotic platforms.

• Conduct experiments and benchmarking across diverse imaging conditions and sensor types.

• Collaborate with software and hardware teams to align ML architecture with embedded system constraints.

• Contribute to codebase quality, model reproducibility, and CI/CD workflows for ML pipelines.

• Explore and prototype new ML applications aligned with HEADBORNE’s mission.

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Required Qualifications

• MS or PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, or a related technical field.

• 2+ years of experience shipping production-grade ML systems.

• Deep expertise in machine learning algorithms and applied computer vision (classical and deep learning).

• Expert-level Python and hands-on experience with PyTorch (or equivalent frameworks).

• Proven experience across the full ML lifecycle: data curation, training, evaluation, deployment.

• Demonstrated ability to optimize models for real-time performance and deployment on edge platforms.

• Proficiency in both English and German.

• Able to work extended hours as required.

• Right to work in Germany, without sponsorship.

• Eligibility for German security clearances.

• Self-motivated, organized, and collaborative.

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Preferred Qualifications

• Experience deploying real-time ML systems using TensorRT, ONNX Runtime, and the NVIDIA edge stack (quantization, pruning, etc.)

• Proficiency in C++ for high-performance or low-latency systems.

• Familiarity with modern ML Ops tools: experiment tracking, model registries, CI/CD pipelines.

• Experience designing and scaling data ingestion and processing pipelines.

• Background in advanced computer vision tasks such as object detection, super-resolution, denoising, or image enhancement.

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Location

This in-person role is based in Jena, Germany. Candidates are expected to be located near Jena or open to relocation.

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What We Offer

• Defend free democracies through mission-based, safe AI solutions
• Closely collaborate with a small, international team of world-leading experts on cutting-edge AI-driven AR systems
• Earn a competitive salary 
• Receive highly competitive stock options