Systems Engineer – USV

Darwin Recruitment; Den Haag; On-site; EUR 65,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Darwin Recruitment is guiding a leading maritime technology group to hire a Systems Engineer for Uncrewed Surface Vessels (USVs). You will contribute to reliability, interoperability, and safety of vessel control software across a fleet, and help design future integrations for automation from a unified remote operations centre.

The role requires strong knowledge of data models, real-time protocols, SCADA/IIoT, and modern architectural patterns, with hands-on experience in dockerized

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Engineering, CS or related field.
• Experience developing data and processing models.
• Familiarity with microservices and event-driven architecture.
• Experience with real-time communications protocols (MQTT, DDS, ModBus, CAN, OPC-UA).
• Understanding of SCADA, PLCs, IIoT, and distributed control systems.
• Strong communication and coordination skills.
• Proactive, ownership-driven mindset with solid decision-making.

Responsibilities

• Ensure reliability, interoperability and safety of vessel control and autonomy software across USVs.
• Design future integrations for vessel automation and support remote operations centre.

Skills

Data & processing models

Microservices

Event-driven architecture

Real-time protocols (MQTT, DDS, ModBus

CAN, OPC-UA

SCADA, PLCs, IIoT

Communication & coordination

Ownership mindset

Docker

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Engineering, CS, or related field

Tools

Docker

Job description

Systems Engineer – Uncrewed Surface Vessels (USV)

Location: Den Hag, Netherlands
Salary: Competitive
Industry: Maritime / Autonomous Systems

Overview of the role:

We are working with a leading organisation in the maritime technology sector. They are looking to hire a Systems Engineer to join their vessel governance team, supporting operations across sectors including subsea inspection, seafloor mapping, and environmental monitoring. This is a full-time, permanent position focused on ensuring the reliability, interoperability, and safety of vessel control and autonomy software across a fleet of Uncrewed Surface Vessels (USVs). The successful candidate will play a key role in designing future integrations for vessel automation and enabling seamless operation from a unified remote operations centre.

Essential:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field
• Experience developing data and processing models
• Familiarity with architectural patterns such as functional layers, microservices, and event-driven architecture
• Experience with real-time communications and protocols (MQTT, DDS, ModBus, CAN, OPC-UA)
• Understanding of SCADA systems, PLCs, IIoT, and distributed control systems
• Strong communication and coordination skills
• Proactive, ownership-driven mindset with solid decision-making capabilities

Required / Highly Preferred:

• Experience designing system integrations aligned to engineering and certification standards
• Ability to define data exchange structures and protocols based on industry standards
• Experience developing verification schemas and communication flow documentation
• Structured documentation skills to support engineering and classification processes

Beneficial:

• Experience with maritime or autonomous systems
• Knowledge of high-availability systems
• Familiarity with containerisation (e.g., Docker) and cloud-based testing environments
• Experience with digital twin integration

Darwin Recruitment is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy.

Oliver Stewart