Maritime Autonomy Technical Sales Engineer

NEXTAFF; Gulfport (MS); On-site; USD 99,000 - 121,000; Full time

Job summary

NEXTAFF in Gulfport, MS is seeking a seasoned Technical Sales Engineer to bridge the gap between engineering and business development for autonomous maritime and unmanned systems programs.

You will lead technical proposals, support capture strategies, perform mission analyses, and communicate complex concepts to both technical and nontechnical stakeholders. Candidates should have hands-on engineering background and strong commercial judgment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering or equivalent military/industry experience.
• At least 5 years supporting unmanned systems, autonomous vessels, maritime robotics, or defense tech.
• At least 3 years in technical sales, sales engineering, business development, or similar role.
• Experience with proposals, technical presentations, demos, or contract capture.
• Strong understanding of autonomous maritime systems, USVs, UUVs, or related tech.
• Excellent analytical, communication, presentation, organizational, and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Responsibilities

• Serve as technical advisor throughout the business development lifecycle, from customer engagement through contract award.
• Support capture strategies, opportunity identification, proposal development, competitive positioning, and customer engagement.
• Analyze mission requirements and operational challenges, and recommend technically achievable solutions.
• Provide market intelligence and customer insights to support business growth.
• Participate in technical meetings, customer demonstrations, sea trials, and operational evaluations.
• Conduct site surveys, mission assessments, and operational analyses involving environmental and logistical requirements.
• Develop CONOPS, mission strategies, and operational workflows.
• Communicate complex engineering concepts to technical and nontechnical audiences; identify capability gaps and alternatives.
• Lead preparation of technical proposals, white papers, capability statements, compliance matrices, and presentations.
• Identify technical risks, develop mitigation plans, and validate proposed capabilities.
• Collaborate with Contracts, Finance, Engineering, and Program Management on accurate proposals and contract clarifications.
• Coordinate with Product Management, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Engineering, and Mission Operations.
• Stay current on system capabilities and product developments; relay customer feedback to product teams.
• Support detailed technical transitions from awarded contracts to program execution.

Skills

Technical sales

Customer-facing

Cross-functional collaboration

Proposal development

Presentation skills

Maritime unmanned systems

Engineering background

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering

Job description

NEXTAFF in Gulfport, MS is seeking a seasoned Technical Sales Engineer to bridge the gap between engineering and business development for autonomous maritime and unmanned systems programs.

You will lead technical proposals, support capture strategies, perform mission analyses, and communicate complex concepts to both technical and nontechnical stakeholders. Candidates should have hands-on engineering background and strong commercial judgment.