Head of Survey Operations

Bedrock Ocean Exploration • Richmond, CA

6d • Onsite

About The Position

Bedrock is operationalizing the largest Earth-exploration mission in human history. We’re doing that by developing robotics & software to explore, map, and classify the entirety of Earth's ocean floor. The oceans are a critical component of climate stabilization. Our hope is to provide critical subsea data and infrastructure to further understand and predict the fundamental forces that support harmonious human existence on this planet.

We’re seeking a versatile, hands-on offshore operations leader to own Bedrock’s United Kingdom survey delivery. Someone equally comfortable running a job themselves, managing contractor crews in the field, keeping equipment squared away, and helping stand up the training that gets new crews certified in the first place. Bedrock trains and certifies contractor crews to run autonomous marine survey operations independently, to Bedrock’s standard, without Bedrock staff aboard. This role is Bedrock’s utility player in the UK: overseeing active jobs run by certified crews, stepping in to run a job directly when a crew needs an extra set of hands, supporting delivery of the contractor training and certification course, and closing the loop between what happens in the field and how Bedrock trains and equips the next crew. This will be Bedrock’s first UK hire.

This is an operational generalist role by design. In a given month you might run deck operations on a live job, walk a crew through an equipment fault over the phone, help teach a module of the certification course to new contractors, coordinate a piece of equipment mobilization, and do minor fabrication or repair work to keep gear field-ready. If it needs doing to keep a UK job on track, it’s fair game for this role.

Requirements

• A true generalist who’s comfortable wearing multiple hats across operations, training, logistics, and hands-on fieldwork- you don’t wait to be told which lane you’re in
• Experience operating marine technologies directly related to Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV's), ideally with at-sea commercial experience beyond private vessel operation
• Experience leading, training, or supervising field crews or technicians in a maritime or offshore environment
• Comfortable teaching or mentoring others- as much at home helping run a training session as running a deck
• Comfortable moving between hands-on survey work and remote oversight of crews performing it- this role does all of it
• Experience working with contractors or vendors in the maritime world, ideally within the United Kingdom and/or European market
• Troubleshooting capability on marine survey equipment, including the ability to talk a crew through a fix remotely
• Strong communication skills; comfortable acting as the connective tissue between contractor crews, clients, and Bedrock’s core team
• Ability to assess crew performance and job readiness against a defined standard, and to know when to step in versus let a crew work through an issue
• Based in, or willing to relocate to, the United Kingdom, with the right to work in the United Kingdom without a visa or work permit
• Ability to travel regularly for survey operations, including nights away from home
• Comfortable building and implementing processes from the ground up
• Ability to get things done creatively in imperfect scenarios
• Unafraid to ask questions; you understand the ramifications of incomplete assumptions
• Experience assessing time-critical decisions and understanding tradeoffs

Nice To Haves

• Certified Hydrographer
• Experience developing or delivering technical training content, either in a classroom or on-the-job setting
• Working knowledge of unmanned underwater systems and related systems such as marine remote sensing instrumentation and software such as GPS positioning systems, IMUs, USBLs, multibeam bathymetry, Side Scan Sonars, Subbottom Profilers, Magnetometers, CTD/SV profilers, etc. Working knowledge of software packages such as QINSy, HYPACK, MagLog, Montaj, SonarWiz, SonarPro, etc.
• Knowledge of AutoCAD, GIS and Global Mapper
• Near shore / offshore vessel operations experience, e.g. an OOW or Master's certificate of competency
• Strong metal work and mechanical fabrication skills, can demonstrate creativity with few resources
• Experience with harnessing and cable building, debugging, soldering, crimping, splicing, potting, routing, field repairs
• Prior experience managing contractor or subcontractor relationships in an offshore/maritime context
• Experience with equipment mobilization/logistics-customs, carnets, vessel charter, or international shipping of technical equipment

Responsibilities

• Overseeing active survey jobs carried out by Bedrock-trained contractor crews across the UK, ensuring work is executed to Bedrock’s operational, safety, and data-quality standards.
• Serving as the primary escalation point for contractor crews during live operations- supporting go/no-go and abort/continue calls, and troubleshooting equipment or mission issues alongside the crew.
• Stepping in directly to perform survey operations- equipment load-out, mission planning, deck operations, and demobilization- when a job needs extra hands, is unusually complex, or hasn’t yet been assigned to a certified contractor crew.
• Supporting delivery of Bedrock’s contractor training and certification course- assisting with hands-on/practical modules, helping assess trainee readiness, and reinforcing course material with real field experience.
• Supporting onboarding of new contractor crews after they complete training and certification, verifying field readiness before a crew is released to operate independently.
• Assisting with mobilization and logistics for UK and European jobs- equipment movement, customs and carnets, in-region vessel arrangements, and spares-coordinating with Bedrock’s logistics function as needed.
• Performing routine maintenance, troubleshooting, and minor fabrication or repair on survey equipment to keep UK-based gear field-ready between jobs.
• Providing regular status updates on active UK jobs to the wider Ops team and to clients.
• Maintaining detailed records of daily job activity across all crews under your oversight.
• Feeding field issues, near-misses, and lessons learned back to Bedrock’s operations and training functions so they’re built into the crew playbook and certification curriculum rather than repeated.
• Promoting continuous improvement of safety and quality management practices across all UK operations.
• Traveling regularly within the UK, and occasionally elsewhere in Europe, to support active jobs, training sessions, and mobilizations in person.

Benefits

• Equal opportunities employer
• Employment decisions are made on the basis of merit, competence, and qualifications, and are not influenced by age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected under the UK Equality Act 2010 or other applicable law.
• Reasonable accommodations available in the process

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed