Mission Support Engineer - Unmanned

Dover; Northern (KY); Remote; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Somewear Labs seeks a Mission Support Engineer – Unmanned to own deployments from prep to execution and recovery. You will isolate failures across vehicle, compute, payloads, and communications, implement safe field solutions, and empower operators to use capabilities confidently.

Responsibilities include on-site system readiness, troubleshooting, pre-mission checks, and post-mission recovery, with a focus on interoperability of hardware, software, and networks in challenging environments.

Qualifications

• Hands-on engineering experience supporting unmanned systems operations or field deployments.
• Ability to configure, integrate, and troubleshoot unmanned systems in field environments.
• Knowledge of hardware, software, payloads, networking, and RF communications.
• Experience with power, cabling, connectors, and data interfaces; multimeter use.
• Proficiency with Linux from the command line and embedded/edge systems.
• Ability to read code enough to aid debugging and support engineering teams.
• Understanding operator workflows for communications and sensor-to-shooter concepts.
• Experience briefing or training military, government, or defense customers.
• Strong problem-solving, field judgment, and communication skills.
• Willingness to travel at least 25%.

Responsibilities

• Own unmanned systems trials, evaluations, and deployments in the field.
• Serve as on-site technical owner for system readiness, configuration, and troubleshooting.
• Perform pre-mission checks, equipment prep, software installation, and recovery.
• Translate mission requirements into system integration needs across hardware and software.
• Drive field issues to resolution with structured troubleshooting.

Skills

Unmanned systems operations

Field troubleshooting

Linux command line

APIs & debugging

Code reading

Field deployments

Power & data interfaces

Team communication

Education

Engineering degree or relevant substitution

Military/technical experience accepted

Tools

Multimeter

Linux tools

Embedded systems tools

Job description

Mission Support Engineer – Unmanned

Location: Remote, with mission-driven travel. Travel volume varies considerably by season and program; we’re happy to discuss specifics with candidates.

Job Type: Full-Time

About Somewear Labs

Somewear Labs builds communication and unmanned systems technology for mission-critical operations in challenging environments.

Job Summary

The Mission Support Engineer – Unmanned is a hands‑on, forward‑deployed technical expert who owns the success of our unmanned system deployments — from pre‑mission preparation through execution and recovery. You will isolate failures across the vehicle, onboard compute, Horizon hardware, payloads, and communications equipment, implement safe field solutions, and enable operators to employ the capability confidently on their own.

Key Responsibilities

Mission Support & Field Execution

• Own technical execution of unmanned systems trials, evaluations, demonstrations, exercises, and operational deployments.

• Serve as the on‑site technical owner for system readiness, configuration, integration, troubleshooting, and mission performance.

• Conduct pre‑mission checks, equipment preparation, software installation, and readiness assessments; support post‑mission recovery, discrepancy identification, documentation, and after‑action review.

• Translate mission requirements into practical unmanned system, compute, communications, and payload integration requirements.

• Drive issues to resolution in the field using structured troubleshooting and sound engineering judgment.

Unmanned Systems Integration & Hardware Troubleshooting

• Configure, operate, maintain, integrate, and troubleshoot unmanned systems and associated mission equipment.

• Isolate failures across the vehicle, onboard compute, Horizon hardware, payloads, and communications equipment.

• Troubleshoot power, cabling, connectors, pinouts, and data interfaces using technical documentation and a multimeter or similar diagnostic equipment.

• Make safe field repairs, wiring changes, or integration adjustments when necessary to restore mission capability.

• Diagnose issues involving networking, RF communications, payloads, and embedded systems.

Linux, Software & Integration

• Install, configure, upgrade, and troubleshoot Beam on vehicle compute hardware and other embedded or edge‑compute systems.

• Administer and troubleshoot Linux from the command line: processes and services, logs, permissions, packages and dependencies, network interfaces, and system resource utilization.

• Work with APIs, configuration files, logs, and command‑line tools to configure systems and diagnose mission issues.

• Read enough code to understand software behavior, identify likely failure points, and support debugging with engineering and product teams.

• Build temporary diagnostic tools, scripts, or workarounds when needed to isolate a problem or keep a mission moving.

Customer Enablement & Product Feedback

• Train operators on mission workflows, system configuration, and troubleshooting, and support onboarding and early adoption.

• Advise customers on incorporating the technology into SOPs, CONOPs, and training pipelines.

• Synthesize operator feedback and field observations for Product and Engineering, and help validate new capabilities, integrations, and software releases prior to launch.

Qualifications

Required

• Hands‑on, engineering‑level experience supporting unmanned systems operations, evaluations, or field deployments (UxS, hybrid platforms, autonomy programs).

• Demonstrated ability to configure, operate, integrate, and troubleshoot unmanned systems and mission equipment in field or operational environments.

• Working knowledge of unmanned system integration across hardware, software, payloads, networking, and RF communications.

• Hands‑on experience troubleshooting power, cabling, connectors, pinouts, and data interfaces, including use of a multimeter and safe field repairs.

• Proficiency administering and troubleshooting Linux from the command line, and installing and configuring software on embedded or edge‑compute systems.

• Experience with APIs, configuration files, logs, and command‑line tools, and ability to read enough code to support debugging.

• Understanding of how unmanned operators employ communications, situational awareness, and sensor‑to‑shooter workflows.

• Experience briefing, training, or supporting military, government, or defense customers.

• Strong problem‑solving, field judgment, and communication skills.

• Ability to travel a minimum of 25%.

• Relevant field, military, technical, or operational experience may substitute for an engineering degree.

Preferred

• Prior Mission Operations, Field Operations, Program Support, Technical Pre‑Sales, or Field Service experience with unmanned systems.

• FAA Part 107 certification.

• Experience supporting large‑scale government evaluations, operational tests, or field exercises.

• Experience with communications, networking, RF, or mission systems integrated with unmanned platforms.

• Familiarity with Somewear Labs' platforms or similar technologies.