Perception Engineer - Computer Vision/Machine Learning

About Forterra

Forterra is a leading provider of autonomous systems for ground-based movement in the working world. Amongst some of the earliest innovators in the field of driverless technology, Forterra is focused on building systems that protect front-line soldiers and enable civilian workers in our industrial base. Forterra is the go-to provider of ground autonomy solutions for the U.S. Department of Defense, which harnesses the technology for asymmetric warfare in critical conditions.

Forterra is refining our robust, real-time perception systems to power autonomous vehicle platforms operating in dynamic, complex environments. We're seeking a Perception Engineer with expertise in computer vision and deep learning to develop and refine core features such as object recognition and scene understanding. This is a hands-on, systems-level role that bridges research and deployment. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in designing and developing core perception algorithms in multiple sensor domains: object detection, and tracking algorithms running on hardware operating in varied environments under real-time constraints.

What You'll Do

• Develop and deploy perception algorithms for object detection, semantic segmentation, classification,
• and OCR across various sensor modalities (camera, LiDAR, radar).
• Improve existing deep learning models and monitor their performance over time.
• Stay up-to-date with academic research and industry trends as relates to deep learning for perception.
• Design data pipelines for training, validation, and model performance tracking across real-world
• scenarios.
• Collaborate with autonomy, systems, and field engineering teams to validate performance in deployed
• systems.
• Analyze logged data and troubleshoot on-site issues to identify and resolve potential problems.

What We're Looking For:

• Solid understanding of machine learning training/deployment pipelines and their implementation.
• Experience building real-time perception models for detection, tracking, segmentation, and OCR.
• Solid programming skills in Python and C++, with experience in robotics or embedded deployment
• pipelines.
• Familiarity with performance optimization, inference acceleration, and deployment on edge devices (e.g.,
• Jetson, TensorRT).
• Understanding of data annotation, training workflows, and general machine learning lifecycle.
• Ability to debug perception issues in field data and iterate rapidly.
• Maintain thorough documentation of algorithm development, testing procedures, and results for team accessibility.
• Strong ability to problem-solve, acts as a self-starter, doesn’t shy away from technical challenges.
• Strong attention to detail, follow-through, and ability to plan architecture to anticipate future technical
• expansion.

What We Need:

• BS, MS, or PhD in computer science, electrical engineering, robotics, or related field, or with equivalent
• industrial experience
• 2+ years of similar academic and/or professional working experience

What We Love to See:

• Experience with delivering production-quality software in a continuously-integrated environment using
• test-drive development patterns.
• Familiarity with multimodal sensor fusion and SLAM or visual odometry.
• Experience with ROS, Docker, and continuous integration for robotics systems.
• Background in structured data management for ML training and evaluation.
• Exposure to AI model deployment in constrained environments with real-time performance requirements.
• Experience with cloud infrastructure and AWS in particular.

The salary range for this role is an estimate and is based on a wide variety of compensation factors. The salary offered to candidates will vary based on a variety of factors including (but not limited to) relevant work experience, education, specialized training, critical expertise, training, and more. Equity in Forterra is included in most of our full-time, high-demand roles and is therefore considered part of Forterra’s overall compensation package. In addition to base salary and equity, Forterra offers competitive benefits for full-time employees including:

• Premium Healthcare Benefits: Three plan options, including an HSA-eligible plan, with Forterra covering 80% of the plan premium for you and your dependents.  
• Basic Life/AD&D, short and long-term disability insurance plans 100% covered by Forterra, plus the option to purchase additional life insurance for you and your dependents.
• Extremely generous company holiday calendar including a winter break in December.
• Competitive paid time off (PTO) offering 20 days accrued per year.
• A minimum of 7 weeks fully paid parental leave for birth/adoption. 
• A $9k annual tuition reimbursement or professional development stipend.
• Fully stocked beverage refrigerators with all the Celsius your little heart desires. 
• 401(k) retirement savings plan, including traditional, Roth 401(k), and after-tax deferral with company match up to 4%.

Your recruiter will be able to share more information about our salary and benefits offering during the hiring process.  

Forterra is an equal-opportunity employer, providing and promoting equal employment opportunity in accordance with local, state, and federal laws. Forterrans are unique, talented individuals who are united through a shared passion to deliver autonomous systems that enable national resilience and a robust supply chain. All qualified applications will receive equal consideration for employment.