Geospatial ML Engineer

DS creates systems that power the next generation of radio spectrum intelligence. We collect radio data from all over the world, train neural networks to decipher it, and run them on the smallest chips we can. We’re solving a new, technically hard problem where nothing from other fields works out of the box, and along the way, we’ve built our own stack from scratch, including entirely new embedding model architectures, custom GPU kernels, and much more.

This year we’ve done 8-figure revenue, tripled our headcount, and raised a $25M Series A led by Sarah Guo (Conviction), Akhil Iyer (Shield Capital), and Nat Friedman (NFDG). We’re using it to invest in new research and to grow our small, New York-based team across engineering, research, and product.

Joining DS means owning major parts of a fast-growing AI research organization, joining a collaborative, talent-dense team with decades of experience in probabilistic ML, accelerated computing, embedded systems, and signal theory, and growing your career in the areas that interest you. You’ll fit in if you want to come to work for the problem itself and don’t want to choose between technical rigor, business value, and real-world impact. We work with high ownership and trust, and we do it together in the office 5 days/week.

About the Role

We’re Hiring a Geospatial Machine Learning Engineer to help pioneer our newest foundational model to enable us to not only detect, but track physical devices transmitting in the RF spectrum You’ll shape how we identify the right data and ingest it, how we train and test, and the tooling we develop to iterate on the model. You will also serve as the organization’s geospatial machine learning expert, partnering with the founders and the growth team to understand customer needs, and translating them into capabilities and products for impact.

What You'll Do

• Own the geospatial ML pipeline and collect, clean, and model map-centric data to feed localization and propagation algorithms.

• Build our foundational, deployable geospatial model that can run on size/weight-constrained drone payloads and forward devices worldwide, and go from ideation to robust, reliable model in 12 months.

• Define best-in-class geo data practices—CRS choices, tiling strategies, temporal alignment, and robust validation.

• Take ideas from whiteboard to field demos quickly

Who We're Looking For

• Deep GIS & geospatial ML expertise shipping models that reason over maps, satellite imagery, or navigation data.

• Comfort with building for rigorous domain adaptation, ensuring performance even in unknown domains, as often customers cannot tell us where they will deploy our technology.

• Fluency with coordinate systems & map projections

• Experience in autonomous systems, remote sensing, or visual navigation

• End-to-end model deployment to embedded/edge runtimes (CUDA, ONNX, TensorRT, etc.).

• Core Stack: Python, PyTorch, Linux

• Nice-to-haves: ****C++/Rust for performance, drone-based navigation, probabilistic filtering, topo-aware path planning.

Who Thrives at Distributed Spectrum

• Fast learners over specific backgrounds – We care more about how quickly you can pick up new skills than where you’ve worked before.

• Intellectual honesty – The right answer matters more than being right. You challenge assumptions, test ideas, and pivot when needed.

• Adaptability – We’re organized, but sometimes things change quickly. You find a way to make it work and balance short-term deliverables with long-term goals.

• Ownership of outcomes – You optimize your own time, focus on what matters to deliver quickly, and cut out inefficiencies.

• Not building in a vacuum – You stay connected to the rest of our teams and our customers to make sure all the pieces fit together.

What We Offer

• Above-market salary, equity, and benefits package.

• Early Series A Equity

• Excellent health, dental, and vision coverage

• 401(k) match - up to 4% of your salary

• Flexible PTO

• Daily office lunches in NYC

ITAR Requirements

To conform to U.S. Government technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) 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 eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.