Junior Robotics Vision Engineer

You want to help build Europe’s resilience? You want to protect people and critical infrastructure – ultimately saving the lives of thousands?

You want to work at the frontier of high-performance autonomous systems?

Join us at CDDS to bring next-generation high-speed autonomous kinetic interceptor drones to life.

CDDS (Counter-Drone Defense Systems) specializes in developing low-collateral kinetic interceptors designed to neutralize malicious drones. Our solutions are built for precision and safety, minimizing risk to surroundings while effectively countering unauthorized or threatening unmanned aerial systems. We work at the cutting edge of counter-drone technology, delivering reliable protection for critical assets and environments.

Tasks

Your Mission

We are looking for a driven Junior Robotics Vision Engineer taking ownership of our vision pipeline. You will train and validate CNN and transformer-based models that enable our interceptor to detect and track fast-moving targets in real time. Working closely with our Senior Vision Engineer, you will collect training data from field tests and simulation, run training experiments, evaluate model performance, and continuously push detection accuracy forward.

Core Responsibilities

• Build and maintain the end-to-end model training pipeline: data ingestion, annotation, training, validation, and deployment
• Train and fine-tune detection models for small-object detection at range
• Collect, curate, and augment training datasets from field recordings and simulation
• Run systematic training experiments and build automated scoring pipelines to benchmark performance across conditions
• Deploy trained models on hardware, support field tests, and feed flight-data insights into the next iteration
• Maintain reproducible training infrastructure (Docker, GPU clusters, versioned datasets)

Requirements

Required

• MSc in Robotics, Computer Vision, ML, or CS (from ETH Zürich or equivalent)
• Strong understanding of modern detection architectures (YOLO, DETR)
• Hands-on experience training deep learning models using PyTorch and OpenCV
• Proficiency in Python; familiarity with Docker
• Strong critical thinking – diagnosing why a model underperforms and design experiments to fix it
• Eager to work long hours in a fast-paced, high-ownership startup when the mission demands it

Nice-to-Have

• Experience with TensorRT, ONNX, or edge-deployment optimisation
• Familiarity with ROS2 and multi-process robotic systems
• Background in drone systems or competitive robotics
• Exposure to realistic simulators for synthetic data generation
• C++ skills for integration with the onboard vision pipeline

Benefits

Why CDDS

• Direct impact on mission-critical technology shaping Europe’s security landscape
• Fast-moving startup – fly what you build, the same week
• Work with a highly technical, ambitious, and hands-on team
• Real-world testing, deployments, and customer demonstrations
• Attractive compensation

Details

• Location: Bei Zürich Hardbrücke
• Start date: ASAP
• Environment: Rapidly growing deep-tech startup, high-impact mission