Field-Deploy Hardware Engineer - Maritime Autonomy

NightDragon Acquisition Corp.; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

Dental & Vision

Paid Time Off

Parental Leave

Stock Options

401(k) Plan

Life Insurance

Disability Insurance

Free Lunch

Snacks & Drinks

Job summary

Saronic Technologies is seeking a versatile Forward Deployed Hardware Engineer to bring our autonomous maritime systems from the lab to real-world deployment. You will integrate mechanical and electrical payloads, debug field problems, and iterate hardware designs for reliability at sea.

The role blends lab work with dockside testing and on-water work, requiring hands-on skills in assembly, wiring, and system validation, plus collaboration across Mechanical, Electrical, Software, and Autonomy

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering (or related field).
• 3+ years in integrated electromechanical systems in fielded or mission-critical environments.
• Hands-on fabrication: CNC, sheet metal, 3D printing.
• Electrical integration of power, cabling, and PCB bring-up.
• Proficient with CAD and basic test equipment.
• Experience with Linux and networking basics.
• Willingness to work near water in dynamic environments.
• Autonomous systems or drones experience preferred.
• Maritime exposure preferred.
• Ability to write simple Python scripts.
• Experience with ruggedized hardware preferred.
• Systems integration or test engineering experience preferred.

Responsibilities

• Mechanical and electrical integration of novel systems onto ASVs and maritime platforms.
• Lead rapid prototyping to support field experiments and platform evolution.
• System bring-up, integration, and troubleshooting of power, networking, sensors, and compute subsystems.
• Own dockside and sea trials—prepare vessels, install hardware packages, and validate in operational environments.
• Drive design-for-assembly and deployment feedback into hardware product development.
• Work with Mechanical, Electrical, Software, and Autonomy teams to evolve designs.
• Interface with suppliers and fabrication shops for fast component turns.
• Contribute to documentation and training to scale deployment and manufacturing.

Skills

Field engineering

Mechanical assembly

Electrical integration

Rapid prototyping

Linux systems

Networking TCP/IP

Education

Bachelor's in ME/EE

Master's degree (preferred)

Tools

CAD (SolidWorks/NX)

Oscilloscope

Multimeter

Job description

Saronic Technologies is seeking a versatile Forward Deployed Hardware Engineer to bring our autonomous maritime systems from the lab to real-world deployment. You will integrate mechanical and electrical payloads, debug field problems, and iterate hardware designs for reliability at sea.

The role blends lab work with dockside testing and on-water work, requiring hands-on skills in assembly, wiring, and system validation, plus collaboration across Mechanical, Electrical, Software, and Autonomy