Integration Engineer

• Location: Onsite in Austin, TX
• Employment Type: Full-time, Direct Hire
• Department: Software Engineering
• Compensation: $140K – $175K plus equity

About 9 Mothers:

• Develop AI-powered machines to intercept and neutralize Group 1/sUAS threats in real-time.
• Flagship product: low-power counter-drone system for edge deployment (vehicles, bases, soldier's pack).
• Mission-driven team focused on immediate survival solutions rather than long-term research.

Position Summary:

• Role involves designing, building, and maintaining integrations between 9 Mothers' counter-drone platform and third-party enterprise and mission systems, especially Command and Control (C2) platforms.
• Own full integration lifecycle: understanding interfaces, defining data contracts, building/testing integrations, supporting field deployment.
• Intersection of software engineering, systems integration, and customer-facing technical work in a fast-moving defense startup.

Essential Duties:

• Integrate counter-drone system with external platforms including C2 systems and sensor networks.
• Develop APIs and messaging interfaces (REST, SOAP, pub/sub) for reliable low-latency data exchange.
• Implement/troubleshoot military/industry-standard data formats/protocols (Cursor-on-Target, Link 16, VMF, TAK/ATAK).
• Gather requirements from customers/partners; define interface control documents.
• Build and execute integration test plans including simulation and hardware-in-the-loop testing.
• Support integration during demos, pilots, field deployments; troubleshoot full stack issues.
• Produce clear integration documentation and runbooks.

Requirements:

• 5+ years experience as an integration engineer or similar role integrating software with external enterprise systems.
• Strong knowledge of APIs (REST/SOAP), messaging/pub-sub systems, data serialization formats (JSON, XML, Protobuf), middleware/integration patterns.
• Proficient in at least one modern programming language used for integration (Python, Kotlin, C++, C#).
• Skilled in diagnosing network/application/data layer issues; strong TCP/IP networking understanding.
• Self-starter comfortable working directly with customers; able to own ambiguous problems end-to-end.
• Must be U.S. citizen due to ITAR export control; willing to submit background check.

Nice-to-Have:

• Military C2 experience with relevant protocols/formats.
• Familiarity with Android Studio (ATAK development) and Visual Studio (Windows C2 integration).
• Defense industry background or experience with regulated/compliance environments.
• Experience with radar, EO/IR, RF sensors or counter-UAS systems.
• Active security clearance or eligibility.

Benefits:

• Early equity ownership.
• Direct influence on product roadmap.
• Mission-critical work addressing real-world threats.
• Access to a fully equipped rapid prototyping lab.
• Employer-paid medical/dental/vision premiums; partial dependent coverage.
• Unlimited PTO.
• Direct reporting to founders; autonomy in technical decisions.
• Austin-based onsite culture promoting collaboration and rapid testing.
• Relocation assistance available.

Interview Process:

1. Initial screening with recruiter (30 min phone call)
2. First-round virtual interview with peer engineer + Director or CTO (1.5 hrs)
3. Second-round onsite interview with CTO + Director + VP + peers (~6 hrs); travel paid for non-local candidates

Reference checks & offer

AI Use Policy in Interviews:

• No AI tools allowed during first-round interviews; violation leads to disqualification.
• Guided AI usage allowed during second-round interviews under explicit instructions.

Compensation Range: $140K - $175K plus equity.