Sr. Artificial Intelligence & Computer Vision Engineer, C-UAS at Sphere Defense (Brussels, Belgium)
Sphere Defense· Brussels, Belgium·
Role details
Job description
Who we are
Sphere Defense is a fully funded technology startup with the mission of providing allied countries with sovereign, effective and seamless autonomous countermeasures to neutralize todays’ and tomorrow’s aerial threats.
Sphere Defense was founded by industry veterans with previous successful exits, and is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, in the heart of Europe.
About you
You are an experienced and highly-motivated Senior Artificial Intelligence & Computer Vision Engineer that has worked with mission-critical autonomous systems, ideally flying robots and precision-guided munitions.
What you’ll do
- Be one of the first members of a high-performing team, designing and developing autonomous countermeasures to protect allied countries from aerial threats
- Own, design, develop, document and test state of the art perception pipelines for situational awareness and detection, identification and tracking of targets
- Architect and train computer vision models for object recognition, environmental awareness and collision avoidance
- Use both classical CV methods and AI-based techniques to process real-time video streams (thermal and visible light)
- Collaborate with Embedded Software, Control, Hardware and Test teams for system architecture definition, sensor selection, calibration and characterization
- Be hands-on, working close to the hardware when needed during development and tests
- Draft and review documentation and design documents
- Be a team player and a mentor, being available to support and grow the team when needed
Location: Onsite in Brussels, Belgium. Our office is close to Central Station.
Reports to: Chief Technology Officer
Requirements
- Bachelor's or Master's Degree in Computer Vision, Robotics, or equivalent
- At least 8 years of experience in a relevant, industry or academic position
- Proficiency with one production language (C++) and one prototyping language (Python)
- Demonstrated ability to produce production-grade, highly optimized target code
- Experience in porting Machine Learning models to different platforms (e.g. ONNX), in quantization and adaptation to integer arithmetic and constrained NPUs
- Strong knowledge of computer vision and image processing
- Demonstrated ownership of complex, production-grade perception pipelines in commercial systems
- Excellent interpersonal communication skills in written and spoken English; French or Dutch is a plus
- You are a self-starter, able to work in a high-ambiguity environment and willing to take up new challenges
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with VIO/SLAM
- Understanding of control systems
- Experience with ROS2 and distributed systems
- Experience with drones (fixed wing, VTOL) or homing missiles
- Experience with IR/thermal imaging
- Previous experience in the defense industry
What we offer
- Attractive compensation
- Year-end bonus
- Stock Options Plan
- Mobility Budget
- 32 days of holidays
- Meal vouchers
- Private Health insurance
We are building a core team of hard-working people. If you want to join a company with tremendous impact and you are autonomous, creative and driven, we want to hear from you!
Sphere Defense offers attractive compensation, stock options, and a unique opportunity to change the global defense landscape.
This role is only open to candidates with right to work in Belgium. We cannot provide visa sponsorship at this time.
Why work at Sphere Defense
- Mission-driven impact: Directly protect allies from the #1 cause of military casualties in Ukraine (drones cause >70% of casualties). Opportunity to shape the future of autonomous defense.
- Early-stage ownership: Be one of the first members of a high-performing team; shape software, perception architecture, and product direction.
- Tech stack: C++ for production, Python for prototypes, ROS2, simulation environments (Gazebo, Foxglove), PX4 flight controllers, Rust preferred. Work on autonomous flying vehicles, sensor fusion, VIO/SLAM, ML, reinforcement learning.
- Compensation: Attractive base pay plus stock options (depending on geography/position).
- Location: Onsite in Brussels, Belgium. Office at Rue d’Enghien 18, 1080 Brussels.
- Culture: High-ambiguity, self-starter environment; team of hard-working, autonomous, creative people. French or Dutch is a plus but English is primary.
- Team size: Very small (early-stage). Founder team includes industry veterans with previous successful exits.