Mission Manager

Saildrone; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 551,000 - 845,000; Full time

Job summary

Saildrone seeks a Mission Manager based in the United Arab Emirates to lead global autonomous maritime missions, coordinating planning, feasibility, and regulatory aspects from a central operations hub.

You will liaise with coast guards, port authorities, and customers, aligning routing and CONOPS while ensuring safe, scalable USV operations and real-time problem solving in a high-stakes environment.

Qualifications

• Experience in maritime operations, autonomous systems, defense, aerospace, or complex technical operations.
• Knowledge of navigation, COLREGS and maritime safety practices.
• Experience in command-and-control operations centers or real-time mission environments.
• Strong written and verbal communication across technical, operational, and executive stakeholders.
• Willingness to travel to support missions and engagements; 50% travel; potential for off hours and on‑call.
• Based in United Arab Emirates; fluency in Arabic is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Mission Planning & Feasibility: Plan and coordinate global mission operations to achieve schedule and performance targets, leading feasibility assessments with Sales and Program Delivery.
• Regulatory & Port Authority: Liaise with Coast Guard, Port Captains and VTS, manage access permissions and reporting.
• Technical Customer Interface: Collaborate with customers via Mission Portal to align on routing, CONOPS and troubleshooting with SMEs.
• Fleet Allocation: Coordinate with Fleet Captains to manage drone allocation, deployments and recoveries per mission requirements.
• Operational Monitoring: Monitor fleet navigational anomalies, weather risks and payload status; act to resolve or mitigate with 24/7 piloting support.
• Documentation & Training: Improve Mission Control SOPs and develop customer training materials and internal processes.
• System Roadmap Feedback: Provide updates on vehicle performance to Product and R&D to support improvements and test plans.
• Operational Continuity: Maintain watch and mission commitments, report to executives, ensure COLREGS and safety compliance.

Skills

Mission Planning

Regulatory Liaison

Technical Interface

Fleet Allocation

Operational Monitoring

Documentation Training

System Feedback

Tools

Saildrone

Job description

THE TEAM

The Mission Management team drives the end-to-end planning and execution of Saildrone s autonomous maritime missions Our core focus is on ensuring safe reliable and scalable Unmanned Surface Vehicle USV operations for national security defense and commercial applications Operating at the critical junction of customers fleet operations engineering and product development Mission Managers translate mission objectives into actionable rigorous operational plans This position is central to the organization requiring communication of both mission objectives and technical expertise to a wide spectrum of stakeholders Candidates should anticipate being at the forefront of worldwide autonomous vehicle operations in a rapidly evolving industry

THE RESPONSIBILITIES

• Mission Planning amp Feasibility Plan and coordinate global mission operations to achieve schedule and performance targets serving as the primary lead for mission feasibility assessments in partnership with Sales and Program Delivery
• Regulatory amp Port Authority Be accountable for liaison with Coast Guard Port Captains and VTS including the management of Reserves and Sanctuaries access permissions and required reporting
• Technical Customer Interface Work closely with customers via the Mission Portal to align on routing Concept of Operations CONOPS and technical troubleshooting by connecting clients to internal SMEs
• Fleet Allocation Carry out daily coordination with Surveyor Voyager and Explorer Fleet Captains to manage drone allocation deployments and recoveries in accordance with mission requirements
• Operational Monitoring Monitor for fleet navigational anomalies weather risks and payload status issues taking action to resolve or mitigate via real-time 24 7 tasking of the piloting team
• Documentation amp Training Adhere to and refine Mission Control SOPs contributing to the development of customer training materials and internal process documentation to improve operational scalability
• System Roadmap Feedback Provide timely updates on vehicle performance and health issues to Product and R amp D teams to support quality improvements and the execution of new product test plans
• Operational Continuity Meet watch and mission commitments managing timelines and providing status updates to executive stakeholders while ensuring all operations follow COLREGS and maritime safety standards

THE QUALIFICATIONS

Experience in maritime operations autonomous systems defense aerospace or complex technical operations Working knowledge of navigation COLREGS and maritime safety practices Experience in command-and-control operations centers or real-time mission environments Strong written and verbal communication skills across technical operational and executive stakeholders Proven ability to prioritize troubleshoot and make decisions in dynamic high-pressure environments Ability to translate mission requirements into actionable operational plans Passion for autonomous technology maritime awareness and ocean data Willingness to travel as required to support missions and customer engagements requiring 50 travel and potential for off hours and on-call support This role will be based out of the United Arab Emirates Fluency in Arabic spoken and or written is a plus

Experience in maritime operations, autonomous systems, defense, aerospace, or complex technical operations.Working knowledge of navigation, COLREGS, and maritime safety practices.Experience in command-and-control, operations centers, or real-time mission environments.Strong written and verbal communication skills across technical, operational, and executive stakeholders.Proven ability to prioritize, troubleshoot, and make decisions in dynamic, high-pressure environments.Ability to translate mission requirements into actionable operational plans.Passion for autonomous technology, maritime awareness, and ocean data.Willingness to travel as required to support missions and customer engagements requiring 50% travel and potential for off hours and on-call supportThis role will be based out of the United Arab Emirates.Fluency in Arabic (spoken and/or written) is a plus