Lead Systems Engineer: Autonomous Subsea Vehicles

Ignite; Amsterdam; Hybrid; EUR 100,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity incentive

Annual bonus

Relocation assistance

Labs access

Vacation days

Job summary

Ignite seeks a Principal Systems Engineer for Defense & Autonomous Subsea Systems. Based in the Netherlands with remote onboarding and access to hands‑on testing labs, you will lead platform design across mechanical, hydrodynamic and electrical subsystems from CAD to sea trials.

You will oversee a cross‑disciplinary team, enforcing design constraints, performing trade studies, and driving integration of energy storage, avionics, and sensors in harsh maritime environments.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of systems engineering experience guiding complex physical vehicles (marine, subsea, aerospace, or motorsport) through full delivery cycles.
• Professional working proficiency in English; NATO-member citizenship with eligibility for security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Establish the foundational subsea vehicle framework and enforce key design allocations (mass, power consumption, buoyancy, hydrodynamic drag, comms, and navigation).
• Perform comprehensive trade studies balancing payload capacities, mission endurance, and transit speeds.
• Drive integration of high‑voltage energy storage, flight control software loops, and payload sensors within compact hulls.
• Define HITL simulation frameworks, test protocols, and lead saltwater trials from prototype phases to verification.
• Direct an agile engineering team, providing hands‑on problem‑solving across acoustic, electrical, and avionics domains.

Education

Naval Architecture

Systems Engineering

Aerospace

Mechanical Engineering

Job description

Ignite seeks a Principal Systems Engineer for Defense & Autonomous Subsea Systems. Based in the Netherlands with remote onboarding and access to hands‑on testing labs, you will lead platform design across mechanical, hydrodynamic and electrical subsystems from CAD to sea trials.

You will oversee a cross‑disciplinary team, enforcing design constraints, performing trade studies, and driving integration of energy storage, avionics, and sensors in harsh maritime environments.