Field Test Engineering Lead

RED CAT HOLDINGS•West Palm Beach, FL

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Blue Ops designs, builds, and fields autonomous unmanned surface vessels (USVs) for defense and national security customers. We are seeking a hands-on field engineer who can operate in two closely coupled capacities: as a Field Test Engineer who plans, instruments, executes, and reports on at-sea and shoreside test events, and as an Engineering Technician Lead who provides technical direction to the technician workforce responsible for building, integrating, commissioning, maintaining, and repairing the fleet. This is a dual-purpose role for someone who is equally comfortable authoring a test plan and running the data reduction behind it and standing in the bilge at 0500 with a multimeter tracing an intermittent NMEA 2000 fault before the boat launches. We are looking for the kind of field engineer who works independently at customer, OEM, and partner sites, drives problems through to full resolution rather than handing them off, documents what was done so the next person can repeat it, and picks up unfamiliar hardware and software platforms quickly. The successful candidate is the person who makes test events happen on schedule, with instrumented vessels, complete data, and a technician team that knows exactly what it is doing and why.

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent required.
Five or more years of hands-on experience in field service, field testing, systems integration, or technical operations of complex electronic and electromechanical systems; ten or more years preferred.
Marine, unmanned systems, aerospace, or defense experience strongly preferred.
Demonstrated experience diagnosing hardware, software, communications network, sensor, power, wiring, and system-integration failures using structured troubleshooting and root-cause analysis.
Demonstrated experience planning and executing formal test, commissioning, or acceptance events, including writing procedures and reporting results to a technical audience.
Demonstrated experience leading, directing, or supervising technicians, installers, mechanics, or a field crew.
Strong practical skills across mechanical assembly, marine and low-voltage DC electrical work, wiring and connectorization, networked electronics, and use of hand tools, power tools, and diagnostic equipment including multimeters and oscilloscopes.
Working proficiency in data analysis and scripting (Python, MATLAB, or equivalent) sufficient to reduce and interpret field data independently, or demonstrated ability and willingness to develop it.
Proven ability to operate independently in high-pressure field environments, manage competing priorities and travel, and communicate status clearly to customers and internal stakeholders.
Demonstrated ability to learn new hardware and software platforms rapidly and become the resident expert on them.
Comfort working on and around small vessels in an open-ocean and coastal environment, including extended days underway.
Excellent written communication — this role produces documents that customers and government stakeholders read.
Valid U.S. driver's license; ability to tow and launch trailered vessels or willingness to be trained and qualified.
Must be able to obtain and maintain a U.S. Department of Defense SECRET security clearance, which requires U.S. citizenship, and must successfully pass a pre-employment background check and drug screening.
Must be authorized to work in the United States without current or future visa sponsorship.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Ocean, Systems, or Aerospace Engineering, or a closely related technical discipline, preferred.
Active or current DoD SECRET (or higher) security clearance.
Ten or more years of progressive field service, marine electronics, or field engineering experience.
Manufacturer or OEM technical certifications in marine electronics, navigation, satellite communications, or sensor products (for example Garmin, Airmar, Intellian VSAT/FBB/TVRO, GOST, or comparable programs).
Experience providing field engineering or service support at OEM, boatbuilder, dealer, and end-customer locations, including direct coordination with engineering and product teams.
Direct experience with unmanned surface, underwater, ground, or air vehicles, particularly autonomy and remote-operations testing.
Hands-on experience building, configuring, and troubleshooting UAV, multirotor, or FPV platforms — flight controllers, ESCs, motors, GPS, radio and telemetry links, video, sensors, and power distribution.
Experience with ArduPilot/ArduRover, PX4, MAVLink, or comparable autopilot ecosystems, including parameter tuning and log analysis.
Familiarity with marine electronics and networks: NMEA 2000/CAN, marine radar, AIS, EO/IR cameras, GNSS/INS, and SATCOM including Starlink maritime.
Experience with marine propulsion, steering, and vessel-control systems — outboards, sterndrives, and associated controls, actuation, and diagnostics.
Experience with COLREGS-based navigation testing, collision and obstacle avoidance evaluation, or maritime autonomy assessment.
Precision mechanical or structural fabrication background — aerostructures, machining, fitting, or fixture work with dimensional verification.
USCG credential, professional mariner experience, or small-boat operator qualification; Navy, Coast Guard, or other maritime military background.
Experience with CAD, engineering drawing practice, and configuration management.
Prior experience supporting OCONUS deployments or expeditionary field operations.

Responsibilities

Lead, schedule, and mentor a team of engineering technicians across vessel build, integration, maintenance, troubleshooting, and repair activities at multiple Florida sites.
Provide technical direction to engineering technicians and determine priorities, methods, and standards for execution of work.
Own the daily work plan for the technician team: assign tasks, sequence work against test and delivery schedules, verify quality of completed work, and escalate resource and schedule risk early.
Conduct performance reviews for assigned technician personnel, set development goals, and support hiring and onboarding of new technicians.
Develop and approve engineering test procedures, acceptance criteria, and corrective actions.
Establish and enforce shop and field standards for workmanship, including marine electrical practice, connectorization and strain relief, sealing and corrosion control, torque and fastener control, and cable routing and labeling.
Direct installation, integration, and checkout of vessel systems: propulsion and drivetrain, steering and actuation, autopilot and flight controller hardware, power distribution, NMEA 2000 and CAN networks, RF and SATCOM equipment, radar, AIS, EO/IR, and onboard compute.
Develop and maintain build travelers, wiring diagrams, integration checklists, pre-operation and post-operation checkout procedures, calibration and configuration instructions, and maintenance documentation; drive their consistent use in the field.
Lead troubleshooting of complex, cross-domain faults — mechanical, electrical, communications network, RF, sensor, power, wiring, and software — using disciplined root-cause analysis rather than parts swapping, and drive each issue through to full resolution.
Manage tooling, test equipment, calibration, spares, and consumables across sites; forecast material needs against the test and delivery schedule.
Own shop and on-water safety practice for technician activities, including lockout/tagout, lifting and launch/recovery operations, battery and fuel handling, and personal protective equipment.
Deliver hands-on technical training to technicians, operators, and end users covering safe operation, troubleshooting, and long-term system reliability, and build the written knowledge base so capability is not resident in a single person.
Serve as the connective tissue between engineering, operations, and production — translating engineering intent into executable field work and field reality back into engineering requirements.
Support customer site visits, government test events, and OCONUS deployments as the on-site technical authority for vessel readiness and test execution, representing Blue Ops professionally to customers, partners, and vendors.
Coordinate directly with OEMs, suppliers, and integration partners on component failures, warranty actions, firmware issues, and design feedback.
Contribute to proposals, statements of work, test cost and schedule estimates, and program reviews.
Support compliance with applicable export control (ITAR/EAR), security, and quality requirements.