Forward Deployed Build Engineer

Description

The company builds autonomous surface vessels and intelligent maritime platforms, and this role supports its Forward Deployed Engineering team.

The job is for a builder with a mechanical or electrical background who will build, integrate, test, and deploy prototype hardware that moves the company's technology from the lab to the fleet.

This is a hands-on engineering role, not a technician job. You will often work without a finished drawing, and you may be handed a problem with a deadline rather than a task.

You will work next to the engineers designing new capability for the ASVs, bring field realities into design before it is locked, build and prove the hardware, define how it is installed and maintained, and take it to the waterfront. Your time is split between the lab, fabrication spaces, and the water.

You report to the Forward Deployed Engineering Director and are embedded with the Forward Deployed Hardware Engineers, who set design intent and priorities. Technical direction comes from the engineers, and you own execution.

You will sit in a product pod that supports several Forward Deployed Hardware Engineers, work deeply on forward deployed projects, and rotate between pods as program needs change. Travel is significant, typically 50-70%, to test sites and deployment locations, and long hours are common during demos and deployments.

Responsibilities

• Work inside a product pod that supports several Forward Deployed Hardware Engineers, focusing on forward deployed projects and moving between pods as demand requires.
• Take a task or problem from an FDE hardware engineer, scope it, source parts, build it, prove it, and close it out with documentation. Build, integrate, and change prototype mechanical and electrical hardware from drawings, CAD models, and sketches, prioritizing speed to test.
• Where direction is incomplete, propose an approach, make build decisions within the engineer's design intent, and raise design-level questions to the engineers.
• Make brackets, fixtures, jigs, and one-off parts using hand tools, shop equipment, sheet metal, and 3D printing. Build wiring harnesses and cabling suited to the marine environment, and work with suppliers and fabrication shops to get custom parts and harnesses back quickly.
• Run the lab and shop spaces day to day: keep tools, equipment, and inventory organized, set up workspaces for active builds, and train engineers and teammates to use the space safely and effectively.
• Work with engineering and field teams to troubleshoot prototype hardware and find faults, from lab bring-up through dockside and sea trials to on-site deployment.
• Recommend design changes that make builds more efficient, practical, and easier to service.
• Lead hardware and subsystem integration across CONUS and OCONUS locations. Verify engineering changes before wider release and support root cause investigations. Act as the on-site engineering contact during deployments, provide technical support, and report findings back to engineering.
• Bring operations and maintenance experience into early requirements and design talks, covering what holds up in the marine environment, what a maintainer can service on a moving deck, and what fails after 200 hours at sea. Feed assembly, serviceability, and deployment recommendations back to engineering.
• Write installation, maintenance, and troubleshooting procedures for prototypes that lack them, working with technical writers. For prototypes entering sustainment, propose maintenance intervals, consumables, spares lists, and special tooling, hand off support to Mission Support, and train operators, field service representatives, and technicians on the systems you build.

Requirements

• An associate or bachelor's degree in a technical field, military technical training, a trade certification, or equivalent hands-on experience.
• Hands-on experience building, testing, or maintaining integrated electromechanical systems, ideally in fielded or mission-critical settings.
• Ability to work from engineering drawings, CAD models, wiring diagrams, and electrical schematics.
• Hands-on skill in mechanical assembly and fabrication, including hand and power tools, sheet metal, 3D printing, and basic machining.
• Hands-on skill in electrical integration, including harness construction, soldering and crimping, connector selection, wire sizing, voltage drop, DC power distribution, and grounding and bonding.
• Hands-on skill troubleshooting with multimeters and oscilloscopes.
• A record of owning a build, integration, or test effort from scoping through close-out, including working through unclear tasks with limited oversight.
• Ability to run tests and root cause investigations, and to write up data, findings, and procedures clearly enough for an engineer, writer, or operator to act on them.
• Comfortable taking direction from engineers and leading a task or small effort when needed.
• Willing to work in dynamic, hands-on settings, including on and near the water, and to travel up to 50-70%.
• Strong sense of ownership and a bias for action.
• Preferred: military or commercial marine maintenance background, such as a Navy or Coast Guard engineering rating, small craft maintenance, or similar.
• Preferred: marine systems experience in propulsion, steering and hydraulics, through-hulls and sealing, corrosion control and bonding, or marine DC electrical.
• Preferred: experience with autonomous systems, drones, or other robotic platforms.
• Preferred: familiarity with maritime environments or naval platforms.
• Preferred: comfort with the Linux command line and basic IP network troubleshooting.
• Preferred: composites or fiberglass layup and repair experience.
• Preferred: boat handling experience, a USCG license, or crane, forklift, and rigging qualifications.
• Preferred: exposure to ruggedized or IP-rated hardware.
• Physical demands, listed as preferred: long periods at a desk on a computer, occasional standing and walking in the office, manual dexterity for keyboards, mice, and office equipment, visual acuity to read screens and documents, occasional reaching, bending, or stooping, and occasionally lifting and carrying up to 20 pounds.

Conditions

Significant travel, typically 50-70%, to test sites and deployment locations.

Long hours are common, especially during demos and deployments.

Based in the lab, fabrication spaces, and on the water, with time split among them.

If the role is based in the United States, it requires access to export-controlled information or items, which means U.S. Person status: a U.S. citizen, a legal permanent resident, or a protected asylee or refugee as defined in 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3).

The company does not discriminate on protected grounds and provides reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities.

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical insurance, with the company paying 100% of employee premiums and 80% of dependent premiums.
• Dental and vision coverage for routine check-ups, orthodontics, and eye care, with the company paying 100% of the basic plan premium for employees and 80% for dependents.
• Generous PTO and holidays.
• Paid maternity and paternity leave.
• Industry-standard salary, with chances for performance-based bonuses.
• 401(k) plan with company match.
• Stock options giving employees a stake in the company's success.
• Basic life insurance and short- and long-term disability coverage.
• Discounted pet insurance, including a 24/7 telehealth helpline.
• Free lunch and unlimited free drinks and snacks in the office.