Field-Deploy Hardware Engineer – Maritime Autonomy

NightDragon Acquisition Corp.; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

Dental & Vision

Time Off

Parental Leave

401(k)

Stock Options

Life & Disability Insurance

Free lunch

Snacks & drinks

Job summary

Saronic Technologies, a leader in autonomous maritime platforms, seeks a Forward Deployed Hardware Engineer. You will bring lab technology to the fleet, integrating mechanical and electrical payloads, debugging field issues, and iterating hardware in real-world conditions.

The role combines lab work, fabrication, and waterfront deployment, with collaboration across Mechanical, Electrical, Software, and Autonomy teams to advance system designs and ensure reliability at sea.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering or related field.
• 3+ years of experience with integrated electromechanical systems in fielded or mission-critical environments.
• Hands-on mechanical assembly and fabrication (CNC, sheet metal, 3D printing).
• Hands-on electrical integration (power systems, cabling, connectors, PCB bring-up).
• Experience in rapid prototyping and system-level debugging.
• Familiarity with CAD tools (SolidWorks, NX) and basic electrical test equipment.
• Experience with Linux-based operating systems.
• Knowledge of networking protocols (TCP/IP, UDP) and distributed systems.
• Willingness to work in hands-on environments including near water.
• Strong ownership and action bias; able to solve open-ended problems.
• Experience with autonomous systems or robotics is preferred.
• Maritime environments familiarity is preferred.
• Ability to write basic software tools for hardware bring-up or test automation.
• Exposure to ruggedized or IP-rated hardware design is preferred.
• Experience in systems integration or test engineering is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a multidisciplinary field engineer for mechanical and electrical integration on Autonomous Service Vessels and maritime platforms.
• Lead rapid prototyping to support field experiments and platform evolution.
• Perform 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 systems in operational environments.
• Drive design-for-assembly and deployment feedback into hardware product development.
• Collaborate with Mechanical, Electrical, Software, and Autonomy teams to evolve designs.
• Interface with suppliers and fabrication shops for fast-turnaround components and harnesses.
• Contribute to documentation and training to scale deployment and manufacturing.

Skills

Mechanical assembly

Electrical integration

Rapid prototyping

System debugging

CAD software

Linux

Networking basics

Field deployment

Payload integration

Robotics

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering

Master's degree preferred

Tools

SolidWorks

NX

Multimeters

Oscilloscopes

PCB bring-up

Job description

Saronic Technologies, a leader in autonomous maritime platforms, seeks a Forward Deployed Hardware Engineer. You will bring lab technology to the fleet, integrating mechanical and electrical payloads, debugging field issues, and iterating hardware in real-world conditions.

The role combines lab work, fabrication, and waterfront deployment, with collaboration across Mechanical, Electrical, Software, and Autonomy teams to advance system designs and ensure reliability at sea.