Marine Engineering Technician

Freeman Boatworks•Moncks Corner, SC

About The Position

At Freeman Boatworks, the Marine Engineering Technician bridges the Engineering team and the shop-floor assembly line, helping ensure high-performance offshore fishing catamarans are engineered for quality, reliability, and real-world performance. This hands-on role combines production labor, mechanical troubleshooting, prototyping, and sea-trial testing. The technician works primarily on the assembly floor installing, testing, and refining boat systems, and also conducts design validation and performance testing on the water.

Requirements

At least 3 years of hands-on experience in marine technician work, boat manufacturing, marine rigging, or marine service engineering.
Strong experience operating, maneuvering, and trailering multi-engine center console boats or large vessels in offshore or coastal conditions.
Proficiency in marine mechanical systems, outboard engine setup, marine hydraulics, fuel systems, and marine electrical wiring and diagnostics, including NMEA 2000 and ABYC standards.
Hands-on experience with composite materials such as fiberglass and resin, marine hardware installation, power tools, and shop equipment.
Ability to communicate engineering concepts effectively to shop technicians and relay production-floor challenges to design engineers.
Ability to work on your feet in a manufacturing shop-floor environment, lift 50+ pounds, bend or crawl into tight bilge and console compartments, and work in outdoor marine environments.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with ABYC standards and NMEA installations.
Experience with Yamaha and Mercury outboard systems and diagnostic tools.
Experience with Garmin, Simrad, and Furuno marine electronics systems.
Experience reading engineering CAD models, blueprints, or wiring schematics.
Prior experience in high-end offshore center console or catamaran production.

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary technical point of contact on the production floor, helping shop technicians interpret engineering drawings, resolve assembly challenges, and implement design changes in production.
Perform hands-on assembly, mechanical and electrical installation, retrofits, and repairs on fiberglass catamarans during prototype builds and standard production.
Identify manufacturability issues, electrical and mechanical bottlenecks, and assembly defects; partner with engineers on practical, scalable shop-floor solutions.
Rig, test, and troubleshoot marine systems, including outboard engines, helm electronics and navigation systems, 12V/24V DC and AC electrical systems, plumbing, livewells, and steering systems.
Document shop-floor engineering feedback, prototype deviations, and test results to support updates to Engineering Change Notices (ECNs) and standard operating procedures (SOPs).