Chief USV Pilot

SYOS Aerospace; Fareham; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

SYOS Aerospace in Fareham is seeking an experienced USV Chief Pilot to lead our Maritime Operations team and drive the standards for autonomous vessel operations.

You will train operators, support trials and customer activities, and act as the technical reference for USV piloting, collaborating with Engineering, Product and Operations to ensure safe, effective, and mission-ready platforms.

Qualifications

• Advanced Powerboat CoC is required.
• Experience operating different USV platforms.
• MASS operator course completed.
• Driving licence and vessel towing experience.
• Experience developing written procedures and training plans.
• Experience leading small teams and delivering training.
• Strong knowledge of maritime regulations, USV operations, vessel safety and MCA/Workboat Code.
• Experience acting as USV Pilot in Command/Master.
• Knowledge of manual, remote and autonomous USV operations including COLREGs and collision avoidance.
• Experience developing operational plans, risk assessments, safety docs, checklists, hazard logs and crew briefings.
• Strong understanding of Safety Management Systems and risk mitigation.

Responsibilities

• Lead USV operations across commissioning, trials, demonstrations, exercises and customer activities in manual, assisted and autonomous modes.
• Establish and maintain USV operator standards, procedures and competency requirements.
• Lead development and delivery of USV operator training including practical exercises and assessments.
• Support R&D and testing of new USV capabilities with operational input.
• Lead operational delivery of USV demonstrations and customer trials ensuring safety and effectiveness.
• Provide operational feedback to improve USV systems and transition capabilities.
• Provide technical and operational leadership across the growing USV operator community.

Skills

Leadership

USV operations

Training delivery

Safety compliance

Operational planning

Education

Advanced Powerboat CoC

MASS operator course

Job description

We're looking for an experienced USV Chief Pilot to join our Maritime Operations team in Fareham.

• Lead the operations behind the next generation of autonomous maritime systems.
• Permanent Full time role
• Fareham, UK

About Us

SYOS is a pioneering aerospace and technology company developing utilitarian autonomous vehicles across air, land and sea. As we expand our product range across the UK and Europe, we're building a team capable of taking autonomous technology from development and testing through to real-world operational use.

About The Role

This is a key operational and technical leadership role. You'll be responsible for establishing and maintaining the standards, competence and capability of our USV operators, while also getting hands‑on with our platforms during commissioning, trials, demonstrations, exercises and customer activities.

You’ll be the technical point of reference for USV piloting and operator best practice, working closely with Engineering, Product, Software and Operations teams to ensure our autonomous systems are safe, effective and operationally ready.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Lead USV operations across commissioning, trials, demonstrations, exercises and customer activities, operating across manual, assisted and autonomous modes.
• Establish and maintain USV operator standards, procedures and competency requirements across different platforms and operating environments.
• Lead the development and delivery of USV operator training, including practical exercises, assessments and competency development.
• Support R&D and testing of new USV capabilities, providing operational expertise across autonomy, navigation, communications and mission systems.
• Lead the operational delivery of USV demonstrations and customer trials, ensuring activities are safe, effective and showcase platform capabilities.
• Provide operational feedback and work closely with Engineering, Product, Software and Operations teams to improve USV systems and transition new capabilities into operational use.
• Provide technical and operational leadership across the growing USV operator community, contributing to the development of SYOS's operational standards, capability and culture.

What We’re Looking For

We're looking for an experienced maritime professional with strong USV operational experience and the confidence to lead, train and develop other operators.

You’ll Ideally Have

• A minimum Advanced Powerboat Certificate of Competence (CoC).
• Experience operating different USV platforms.
• Completed a MASS operator course.
• A driving licence and vessel towing experience.
• Experience developing written operational procedures and training plans.
• Experience leading small, highly skilled teams and experience teaching or delivering technical/operator training.
• Strong knowledge of maritime regulations, USV operations, vessel safety and applicable MCA/Workboat Code requirements.
• Experience acting as a USV Pilot in Command / Master, with responsibility for vessel safety and operational decisions.
• Extensive knowledge of manual, remote and autonomous USV operations, including navigation, COLREGs and collision avoidance.
• Experience developing operational plans, risk assessments, safety and technical documentation, checklists, hazard logs and crew briefings.
• Strong understanding of Safety Management Systems, hazard identification, risk mitigation and go/no-go decision-making.

Desirable

• Yachtmaster Offshore CoC.
• Health & Safety qualifications.
• Current First Aid at Work certificate.

Why join SYOS?

This is an opportunity to play a hands‑on role in the development and deployment of next‑generation autonomous maritime technology. You'll have the opportunity to influence how USVs are operated, tested and deployed while helping build the standards and capability of a growing operator community. You'll work at the intersection of maritime operations, autonomy, engineering and technology, providing real operational insight into the development of systems that will operate in increasingly complex environments.

If you're an experienced USV operator who wants to take the next step into a role combining technical leadership, operator development, trials and cutting‑edge autonomous technology, we'd love to hear from you.