ML Engineer, Applied AI – Crucible in San Diego, California at Firestorm

Who We Are At Firestorm, we are building the future of expeditionary defense manufacturing and autonomous systems. Modern conflict has exposed a fundamental problem: the systems needed most by operators are often too expensive, too slow to produce, and too difficult to sustain at scale. Firestorm exists to change that. We develop mission-adaptable aerial systems and deployable manufacturing infrastructure designed to put capability directly into the hands of the warfighter. From modular unmanned aircraft to xCell — our deployable microfactory — our goal is to make defense systems rapidly deployable, adaptable, and producible at the point of need. We are looking for builders, operators, and problem-solvers who want to work on meaningful technology with real-world impact.
About the Role Firestorm builds uncrewed aircraft and the manufacturing network that produces them: full-capability plants, deployable xCell edge factories, and forward-deployed sites that stand up production near the point of need. Crucible is the software that runs that network. It combines production planning, execution, supply chain, and manufacturing data into a common model of how production operates. We are hiring a Staff Machine Learning Engineer to build the applied AI systems behind Crucible. You will work alongside data science and software engineering to productionize optimization and ML models, integrate foundation models into the platform, and build AI-assisted workflows grounded in Crucible's manufacturing data and system model. This is a hands-on engineering role, not a research position. We are looking for someone who has shipped ML and AI capabilities into real products and understands what it takes to make them reliable, measurable, and useful after the prototype works. What You’ll Do

• Build AI capabilities in Crucible — Develop AI-assisted workflows that use Crucible's data, APIs, and domain model to surface insights, answer questions, and help users make decisions.
• Productionize decision models — Work with data science to integrate optimization, forecasting, and other models into reliable product capabilities.
• Build AI systems end-to-end — Design model interfaces, retrieval, tool use, orchestration, evaluation, and the services required to run them in production.
• Select and evaluate models — Choose models and approaches based on capability, reliability, latency, security, and deployment constraints.
• Build for constrained environments — Support AI capabilities in cloud, air-gapped, and edge deployments where external model APIs may not be available.
• Ground AI in real operations — Work with manufacturing, supply chain, and product teams to turn operational problems into useful AI features.
• Set the technical direction for applied AI — Establish patterns, evaluation methods, and engineering standards for how AI is used across Crucible.

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years building and shipping production software or ML systems, with a proven track record of success
• U.S. person required due to ITAR regulations
• Strong machine learning fundamentals, with hands-on experience beyond model API integration
• Demonstrated technical ownership of AI/ML systems from experimentation through production, including implementation, architecture, evaluation, and debugging
• Hands-on experience building production systems with LLMs or other foundation models
• Strong Python and software engineering fundamentals
• Experience with modern ML frameworks and transformer-based models
• Experience designing evaluations and monitoring production AI/ML behavior
• Demonstrated ability to make sound technical tradeoffs across model quality, reliability, latency, cost, and system complexity

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working with open-source models and local model inference
• Experience with manufacturing, supply chain, logistics, or other operational software
• Experience with model fine-tuning, inference optimization, or GPU deployment
• Aerospace, defense, robotics, or other complex physical-system experience

Work Environment

• This role is based in San Diego, CA.
• We welcome candidates who are local or open to relocating; relocation assistance is available and may be included in the offer package where appropriate.

Compensation US Salary Range: $150,000 – $220,000 USD The posted salary range reflects an estimate based on a variety of compensation factors, including but not limited to relevant experience, education, certifications, specialized skills, geographic location, and business needs. Actual compensation may vary, and this range is subject to change as our compensation structure or market conditions evolve. Benefits & Perks Our culture fosters collaboration, respect, and trust, empowering passionate people to do their best work. We offer a competitive salary, comprehensive benefits, and opportunities for career growth. In addition to an opportunity to take part in an innovative, collaborative and fast-growing business with a highly motivated and skilled team, we also take pride in taking care of our employees. Here are just a few ways that we show our appreciation:

• We offer comprehensive medical, dental, and visions plans
• 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan to invest in your long-term retirement goals
• Equity grants for new hires
• Unlimited PTO
• Extremely generous company holiday calendar, including a holiday hiatus in July & December.
• Generous Parental Leave
• Lifestyle Spending Account
• FSA
• DCFSA
• HSA
• Hospital Indemnity insurance
• Critical Illness insurance
• Accident insurance
• Basic Life/AD&D, short-term and long-term disability insurance, 100% covered by Firestorm. Plus, the option to purchase additional life insurance for you and your family.
• Mental Health Resources: We provide free mental health resources 24/7 including therapy and more. Additional work-life services, such as free legal and financial support, are available to you as well.

Export Control Compliance To conform to U.S. government export control regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR), you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or otherwise eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State or U.S. Department of Commerce. Equal Opportunity Statement Firestorm is an equal opportunity employer, committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace, and upholding equitable hiring practices. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic under federal, state, or local law, including those with a criminal history, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the CA Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance. We actively encourage members of recognized minorities, women, Veterans, and those with disabilities to apply, and we work to create a welcoming and supportive environment for all applicants throughout the interview process. Firestorm is committed to fostering an inclusive and accessible work environment. If you require accommodations or assistance during the application process, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at careers@launchfirestorm.com so we can provide the support you need.