Senior/Staff AI Engineer - Large Language Models (LLM)

About Forterra At Forterra, we are unleashing autonomy at scale to transform the battlefield. Our mission is to build the foundational platforms that enable an intelligent ecosystem to coordinate, adapt, and execute with speed and precision even in the uncertainty and disruption of modern conflict. In an era marked by rapid technological change and evolving threats, we design for flexibility, survivability, and operational dominance. Forterra delivers weapons, sensors, and battlefield effects through integrated autonomous networks reaching operational areas faster, safer, and without placing human lives at risk. Our systems operate with distributed control, dynamic routing, and real-time responsiveness, enabling sustained advantage across complex mission environments. About The Role: We are looking for a researcher/engineer with deep expertise in large language models (LLMs), reasoning, and multimodal AI. You will help design and develop methods that enable intelligent systems to make robust, explainable, and context-aware decisions. This role sits at the intersection of advanced research and applied engineering, with direct impact on building real-world AI capabilities. What You'll Do: Research and prototype new methods to extend LLMs with reasoning capabilities Develop and optimize multimodal pipelines combining text, vision, and structured data Adapt and scale models for real-time, safe, and efficient performance Define evaluation strategies to measure robustness, reliability, and uncertainty in reasoning Work cross-functionally with research and engineering teams to bring ideas into production Minimum Qualifications Proficiency in Python and modern deep learning frameworks (PyTorch, or TensorFlow) Strong foundations in machine learning and reasoning algorithms Experience with scaling and optimizing LLMs for efficiency (e.g., distillation, quantization, inference optimization) Excellent problem-solving and collaboration skills A strong background in transformer-based models and LLMs Hands-on experience with multimodal ML (e.g., vision-language, text + spatiotemporal data) Solid understanding of probabilistic methods, uncertainty modeling, or decision-making under uncertainty Proven ability to translate research into practical implementations Preferred Qualifications Experience working on real-time or safety-critical AI systems Publications in top ML/AI conferences (e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, CVPR) Contributions to open-source ML frameworks or toolkits Curiosity and drive to explore explainable and reliable AI reasoning US Salary Range $160,000—$210,000 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 w ... (truncated, view full listing at source)