Maritime Test Engineer

Heaviside Industries, Inc.; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Health benefits

401(k) retirement plan

Long-term incentives

Job summary

Heaviside Industries in Los Angeles, CA is seeking an experienced Test Engineer to own the testing process for advanced autonomous undersea systems, from planning to product delivery.

You will plan tests, manage requirements, acquire or fabricate equipment, lead lab and open‑water verification, coordinate vessels and logistics, document findings, and drive root‑cause analyses, while ensuring budgets, schedules, and safety responsibilities are met across our maritime campaigns.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or related field.
• Minimum 3 years of experience testing complex maritime systems (AUVs/UUVs, ROVs, unmanned vessels).
• Ability to own technical aspects, timelines, and budgets for test campaigns.
• Experience designing and fabricating test equipment and handling marine hardware is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Own the testing process from planning to product delivery for advanced autonomous undersea systems.
• Plan tests, manage requirements, and document results for internal and customer verification.
• Acquire or fabricate necessary equipment and maintain inventory for test campaigns.
• Direct and execute tests from lab development to open-water verification; coordinate logistics.
• Document test activities and lead root-cause analyses for failures and fixes.
• Manage budgets and timelines, coordinating with engineers and production managers.

Skills

Test planning

Requirements management

Budget & schedule management

Independent work

Maritime hardware familiarity

Root-cause analysis

Safety & contingency planning

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Tools

Test equipment fabrication

Pressure vessels

Underwater vehicle operations

Job description

ABOUT HEAVISIDE INDUSTRIES

Heaviside Industries builds multi-domain autonomous precision munitions for U.S. and allied special operations and conventional forces. While modern warfare has rapidly evolved with the proliferation of unmanned systems, hyper-precise munitions in contested environments are the future of the battlefield. Economical precision strike capabilities are critical to U.S. and allied war efforts, enabling successful defeat of enemy military assets and infrastructure. Heaviside builds precision munitions designed to operate in GPS-denied and spectrum-jammed battlefields—where traditional systems degrade or fail—without inflated prices or sacrifice to performance.

All engineering and manufacturing is conducted in-house in Heaviside's Los Angeles, CA headquarters and Oslo, Norway office.

Heaviside is backed by Interlagos, Menlo Ventures, Flume Ventures, Cantos, Anorak Ventures, and Ravelin Ventures.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

• Own the testing process, from planning to product delivery, for advanced autonomous undersea systems

• Perform test planning and manage the gathering and tracking of requirements

• Acquire, or design and fabricate, necessary equipment to execute the test campaign, including pressure test fixtures, tank test rigs, deployment and recovery hardware, and instrumentation, and maintain the inventory of test equipment

• Direct and execute test operations, from component-level development in the lab and pressure/tank testing of subsystems, to systems-level performance verification in open-water environments

• Plan and manage on-water test logistics, including support vessels, launch and recovery operations, range coordination, and vehicle tracking and communications during sorties.

• Thoroughly document test activities for internal consumption, to guide decision making, and for customer verification of contractual obligations

• Identify failures and lead root cause and corrective action activities for our products, including post-dive inspection, data review, flooding/leak investigations, etc

• Manage budgets and timelines for testing activities, and coordinate with other engineers and production managers to meet timeline and financial goals for our product lines

• Be responsible for the safety and contingency planning of complex maritime test events involving large numbers of personnel, support vessels, and in-water operations

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

• Bachelor's degree or higher in an engineering discipline (mechanical engineering, ocean engineering, electrical engineering, etc.)

• Minimum 3 years of experience testing complex systems, especially AUVs/UUVs, ROVs, unmanned surface vessels, sonar and acoustic systems, or other maritime defense products in a fast-paced R&D environment

• Comfort working and acting independently, and taking ownership of the technical aspects, timelines, and budgets for complex test campaigns

• Familiarity with designing and fabricating test equipment, and managing the sourcing, production, assembly, and operation of said equipment. Experience with pressure vessels, waterproofing and sealing, and marine-grade hardware is a plus

• Comfort working on and around boats and waterfront facilities. Experience operating small vessels (or a USCG license), SCUBA certification, or hands-on experience with launch and recovery of underwater vehicles is a strong plus

• Currently hold, have held, or be eligible for a U.S. Government security clearance

• U.S. Person as defined by ITAR (22 CFR §120.62)

Additional Information:

Compensation bands are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data. Individual level and base pay is determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on job-related skills, education, experience, technical capabilities and internal equity. In addition to base salary, for full-time hires, you may also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the form of stock options, and access to medical, vision & dental coverage as well as access to a 401(k) retirement plan.

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.

Heaviside is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Heaviside is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, physical disability or any other legally protected status.