Maritime Test Engineer - Autonomous Systems

Applied Intuition•San Diego, CA

7d•$145,000 - $170,000•Onsite

About The Position

As a Maritime Test Engineer for Autonomous Systems, you will be on the front lines of proving our autonomous surface vehicles are ready for real-world deployment. This is a hands-on, on-the-water role: you will spend significant time aboard vessels executing test events, operating and monitoring autonomy systems, collecting data, and turning what you observe at sea into actionable findings for the engineering team. You will help bridge the gap between cutting-edge R&D and mission-proven capability, ensuring our systems are performant, reliable, and safe in the most demanding environments on Earth.

Requirements

Bachelor's Degree in a relevant engineering discipline (e.g., Mechanical, Electrical, Ocean, Systems), Computer Science, or a related technical field — or equivalent hands-on experience
3+ years of experience in test, integration, or field operations of complex electro-mechanical or software-intensive systems
Hands-on experience testing or operating autonomous or unmanned systems in a relevant domain (air, ground, or sea)
Comfort and demonstrated ability working on vessels offshore for extended periods, in potentially harsh conditions
Experience with agile program management tooling such as Atlassian Jira
Strong technical writing skills, with the ability to draft clear test reports and after action reports
Willingness and ability to travel up to 30% of the time, including periods spent offshore on vessels of various sizes
U.S. Citizenship with the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Secret security clearance

Nice To Haves

Direct, hands-on experience with Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs) or Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs)
Experience with on-deck maritime operations, including vessel handling, launch and recovery, and working with pier-side and port service partners; USCG credentials or small boat qualifications are a plus
Familiarity with marine electronics, RF communications, GPS/GNSS, and shipboard sensor systems
Experience supporting government test programs, particularly with the U.S. Navy
Prior military experience in a relevant operational or technical field (e.g., Navy EOD, Naval Special Warfare (NSW), or billets related to operations of robotic and autonomous systems (RAS))

Responsibilities

Execute on-water test events for our fleet of autonomous surface vehicles, participating directly in sorties aboard test and chase vessels in closed-course and open-ocean environments
Support pre-underway system checkouts, launch and recovery operations, and pier-side preparation of test vessels
Operate and monitor autonomy systems during test events, executing test cards and procedures while maintaining situational awareness and safety on deck
Collect, manage, and perform first-pass analysis of test data, ensuring data quality and completeness for each sortie
Identify, document, and triage system discrepancies and anomalies using agile program management tooling such as Atlassian Jira, working closely with autonomy and hardware engineering teams
Contribute to test plans, test procedures, and test readiness reviews under the direction of the Test & Evaluation Director
Author clear, comprehensive after action reports and test reports that capture results, observations, and recommendations
Support Hardware-in-the-Loop (HITL) and simulation-based testing between on-water events