Lead Robotics Engineer

Lead Robotics Engineer, Autonomous Deployment

Location: Oahu, Hawaii (Initial Assignment) | Long-Term: WA or CA

$180,000–$220,000 base salary, plus equity and relocation assistance.

About the Company

Our client is an innovative, venture-backed defense technology startup developing advanced autonomous hardware systems for maritime and subsea environments.

The company is focused on developing next-generation technologies that can operate autonomously in some of the world's most challenging environments, including the deep ocean. With a small, highly technical engineering team, the organization emphasizes hands-on development, rapid prototyping, and real-world testing to bring innovative hardware systems from concept to deployment.

This is an opportunity to join an early-stage organization working at the intersection of robotics, marine technology, autonomous systems, and defense.

The Role

Our client is seeking a Lead Robotics Engineer, Autonomous Deployment to take ownership of the development and integration of autonomous deployment capabilities for an advanced subsea sensor platform.

This role spans underwater robotics, mechanical systems, hydrodynamics, guidance and controls, embedded systems, and subsea engineering. You will be responsible for developing the capabilities that allow a sensor platform to autonomously descend through the water, navigate to a designated location, secure itself in place, and operate reliably in extreme underwater environments for extended periods.

Unlike traditional AUV development, this role is focused on integrating targeted autonomous capabilities into an existing sensor platform rather than building a fully autonomous underwater vehicle. You will establish the technical architecture, evaluate existing technologies and components, develop custom solutions where necessary, and lead the effort from initial prototyping through open-water deployment.

This is a highly hands-on technical leadership position. You will be the first engineer dedicated to autonomous deployment, with significant ownership over engineering decisions, system architecture, prototyping, integration, and testing. The development approach emphasizes rapid experimentation, parallel prototyping, and real-world validation, with the expectation that you will spend significant time working directly with hardware and participating in ocean trials.

What You'll Own

• Lead the end-to-end development of autonomous deployment capabilities for an advanced subsea sensor platform.
• Develop controlled descent systems that allow hardware to move through the water column while maintaining stability and directional control.
• Design and integrate guidance, navigation, and control capabilities that allow the platform to autonomously reach designated underwater locations using onboard sensing and closed-loop control.
• Develop mechanical and electromechanical mechanisms that allow the sensor platform to autonomously secure itself at its intended destination.
• Engineer systems capable of surviving extreme underwater conditions, including full ocean depth pressures, seawater exposure, and extended deployments lasting multiple years.
• Establish the overall system architecture and integrate mechanical, electrical, sensing, and control components within strict size, weight, and power (SWaP) constraints.
• Evaluate, source, and integrate existing commercial and subsea technologies wherever practical, developing custom hardware only when necessary.
• Lead rapid prototyping and parallel development efforts, testing multiple approaches and iterating quickly based on real-world performance.
• Plan, coordinate, and execute underwater testing, including controlled testing environments and open-ocean trials.
• Participate directly in at-sea operations, including boat-based testing, hardware deployment, troubleshooting, and recovery.
• Analyze system performance and hardware failures, translating test results into design improvements and subsequent development iterations.
• Provide technical direction as the autonomous deployment effort expands, identifying areas requiring additional engineering support or specialized expertise.

What You'll Need

• 10+ years of engineering experience developing complex robotics, autonomous hardware, subsea systems, or related electromechanical platforms.
• Demonstrated experience taking physical hardware from concept through design, prototyping, integration, testing, and real-world deployment.
• Strong hands-on experience developing mechanical or robotic systems that operate autonomously and reliably without continuous human intervention.
• Experience with underwater robotics, subsea hardware, marine systems, or other technologies operating in demanding aquatic environments.
• Understanding of hydrodynamics, underwater stability, buoyancy, and the behavior of bodies moving through water.
• Experience developing guidance, navigation, and closed-loop control systems and translating theoretical models into functional hardware.
• Experience designing or integrating mechanical and electromechanical mechanisms for autonomous positioning, deployment, attachment, or securing applications.
• Practical experience engineering hardware for extreme environmental conditions, particularly high-pressure underwater environments and prolonged seawater exposure.
• Experience integrating mechanical, electrical, sensing, and embedded control systems within constrained size, weight, and power requirements.
• Strong prototyping and fabrication skills, with the ability to work directly with hardware, evaluate existing components, and develop practical solutions quickly.
• Experience planning and executing physical testing, troubleshooting failures, and iterating hardware based on real-world results.
• Ability to independently establish technical direction, make engineering tradeoffs, and take ownership of complex development efforts with limited resources.
• Comfortable working in a machine shop, laboratory, and outdoor testing environments, including boat-based operations and open-water testing.
• Willingness to initially work onsite in Oahu, Hawaii for approximately 6–12 months, potentially longer, before transitioning to Seattle, Washington or Orange County, California.
• Eligibility to obtain a U.S. security clearance.

Nice to Have

• Experience developing autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), underwater gliders, or subsea robotic platforms.
• Experience shipping underwater hardware that has successfully operated during extended deployments in deep-ocean environments.
• Familiarity with subsea component suppliers, underwater connectors, pressure housings, actuators, sensors, and other marine-grade hardware.
• Experience with underwater navigation, localization, acoustic positioning, inertial navigation, or subsea sensing technologies.
• Background in defense technology, maritime systems, ocean engineering, or advanced hardware startups.
• Experience with embedded C/C++, Python, robotics software, or real-time control systems.
• Experience working with small engineering teams in early-stage environments where engineers are expected to establish architecture, build prototypes, and execute with significant autonomy.

Work Environment

This is a highly hands-on technical leadership role within a small, fast-moving defense technology startup. The Lead Robotics Engineer will be the first dedicated engineer responsible for autonomous deployment and will have substantial ownership over the architecture, technical direction, and execution of the effort.

The development process emphasizes rapid experimentation, practical engineering decisions, and real-world validation over lengthy design cycles. Candidates should be comfortable moving between engineering design, hands-on fabrication, hardware integration, and field testing.

The role requires direct participation in ocean trials and at-sea operations. Engineers are expected to work closely with physical hardware, troubleshoot problems in the field, and drive rapid development iterations based on actual deployment performance.