Senior Subsea Acoustics Engineer

Ulysses; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Ulysses is seeking a Senior Acoustics Engineer to lead the development of next‑generation underwater sensing systems. You will own core acoustic payloads and algorithms and drive them from concept through production for global deployment.

This senior, hands-on role spans physics, signal processing, electronics, embedded software, and mechanical integration. You will lead the acoustics team, set technical direction, and collaborate with robotics and manufacturing to deliver scalable, reliable

Qualifications

• 8+ years of professional experience in underwater acoustics, sonar systems, or closely related signal processing disciplines.
• Track record of shipping acoustic products—or owning major subsystems of them—ideally in DVL, MBES, Side Scan, USBL, or closely related sonar systems.
• Deep expertise in DSP and estimation: time/frequency domain analysis, filtering, detection, beamforming, Doppler processing, and probabilistic performance metrics.
• Strong implementation skills in Python for R&D prototyping and C/C++ (or equivalent) for embedded/real-time deployment.
• Demonstrated ability to work across disciplines—bridging physics, electronics, firmware, and mechanical integration.
• Hands-on approach to testing: designing experiments, building rigs, running field trials, and debugging from raw waveforms to full system behavior.
• Experience leading technical direction on complex development programs and making architecture-level tradeoff decisions.
• Proven ability to develop working, deployed systems—not just theoretical models or paper studies.

Responsibilities

• Lead acoustic product development end-to-end: architect systems, prototype quickly, validate performance, and drive designs into production
• Lead a team to design, build, and test performative sonar systems across one or more of: DVL (bottom/water-track velocity, aiding INS), MBES (bathymetry, obstacle/terrain mapping), Side Scan Sonar (imaging/classification support), USBL (relative positioning/tracking, aiding navigation)
• Develop and own signal processing and estimation pipelines: waveform design, matched filtering, Doppler estimation, beamforming, multipath/false return rejection, uncertainty characterization, and sensor fusion interfaces
• Lead the team through hardware/software stack design and development while owning parts yourself: transducer selection/design tradeoffs, analog front-end considerations, timing/synchronization, embedded compute constraints, interfaces (Ethernet, serial, CAN, PPS), firmware/drivers, and logging/observability
• Drive scale-to-production: cost-down iterations, DFM/DFT, supplier selection, manufacturing documentation, calibration procedures, automated test fixtures, yield and reliability improvements
• Lead real-world test campaigns: tank/bench characterization, environmental testing, field deployments, sea trials, and structured performance reporting
• Mentor junior engineers and set technical standards for the acoustics discipline within the team

Skills

Underwater acoustics

DSP & estimation

Python

C/C++

Cross-disciplinary collaboration

Testing and field trials

Job description

About us

Ulysses is the ocean company. We design, manufacture, and operate autonomous vehicles for surface and subsea operations — taking on the most critical tasks across defense, commercial, and scientific missions. Our vertically integrated platform includes Mako, a modular AUV with 72-hour endurance and more onboard compute than any vehicle in its class; Leviathan, an autonomous surface vessel mothership; and Kraken, our automated launch-and-recovery system that closes the loop between surface and subsea with zero human intervention.

The ocean covers 71% of the Earth's surface and drives a $2.6 trillion global economy, yet it remains the least monitored domain on the planet. We're changing that — building autonomous systems that collapse the cost of ocean operations by orders of magnitude so that persistent coverage becomes the baseline, not the exception. We operate globally today across defense, ocean science, and commercial survey, working with partners including the U.S. Navy, the Government of Australia, the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, and The Nature Conservancy.

Founded in 2023 and headquartered in San Francisco, Ulysses has raised $48 million in funding from Andreessen Horowitz, Booz Allen Ventures, Harpoon Ventures, Pebblebed, Lowercarbon Capital, and others. Our team is lean, hands-on, and fast — we prototype in the shop, test on the water, and ship. If you want to work at the frontier, there's no frontier bigger than the ocean.

About the Role

We’re looking for a Senior Acoustics Engineer to lead the development of our next generation of cost-effective, high-performance underwater sensing—designed from day one for manufacturing scale. You’ll own core acoustic payloads and algorithms (DVL, MBES, Side Scan Sonar, USBL, and adjacent modalities) and drive them from concept through production as robust, repeatable, calibratable products that can be manufactured in volume and deployed globally.

This is a senior, hands-on, full-stack role spanning physics, signal processing, electronics, embedded software, mechanical integration, and production test. You will be leading the Ulysses acoustics team. You’ll set technical direction for our acoustic systems and work closely with robotics, autonomy, and manufacturing teams to ensure they are not only impressive in the lab but also reliable in the ocean and economically viable at scale. We expect you to bring deep domain expertise and the judgment to make critical architecture and design tradeoffs independently.

What You’ll Do

• Lead acoustic product development end-to-end: architect systems, prototype quickly, validate performance, and drive designs into production
• Lead a team to design, build, and test performative sonar systems across one or more of: DVL (bottom/water-track velocity, aiding INS), MBES (bathymetry, obstacle/terrain mapping), Side Scan Sonar (imaging/classification support), USBL (relative positioning/tracking, aiding navigation)
• Develop and own signal processing and estimation pipelines: waveform design, matched filtering, Doppler estimation, beamforming, multipath/false return rejection, uncertainty characterization, and sensor fusion interfaces
• Lead the team through hardware/software stack design and development while owning parts yourself: transducer selection/design tradeoffs, analog front-end considerations, timing/synchronization, embedded compute constraints, interfaces (Ethernet, serial, CAN, PPS), firmware/drivers, and logging/observability
• Drive scale-to-production: cost-down iterations, DFM/DFT, supplier selection, manufacturing documentation, calibration procedures, automated test fixtures, yield and reliability improvements
• Lead real-world test campaigns: tank/bench characterization, environmental testing, field deployments, sea trials, and structured performance reporting
• Mentor junior engineers and set technical standards for the acoustics discipline within the team

About You

You’re a seasoned acoustics engineer who has shipped real products into demanding environments. You combine deep theoretical foundations with the practical instincts to make systems work under pressure, on schedule, and at cost. You’re energized by ownership, move fast, and hold yourself to a high bar.

Requirements

• 8+ years of professional experience in underwater acoustics, sonar systems, or closely related signal processing disciplines
• Track record of shipping acoustic products—or owning major subsystems of them—ideally in DVL, MBES, Side Scan, USBL, or closely related sonar systems
• Deep expertise in DSP and estimation: time/frequency domain analysis, filtering, detection, beamforming, Doppler processing, and probabilistic performance metrics
• Strong implementation skills in Python for R&D prototyping and C/C++ (or equivalent) for embedded/real-time deployment
• Demonstrated ability to work across disciplines—comfortable bridging physics, electronics, firmware, and mechanical integration
• Hands-on approach to testing: designing experiments, building rigs, running field trials, and debugging from raw waveforms to full system behavior
• Experience leading technical direction on complex development programs and making architecture-level tradeoff decisions
• Proven ability to develop working, deployed systems—not just theoretical models or paper studies

Nice-to-Haves

• Experience with transducer design, array design, acoustic materials, packaging, and underwater connectors/sealing
• Experience with production test automation, calibration pipelines, and quality systems (e.g., ISO 9001-style processes)
• Prior work on AUV/ROV/USV platforms and navigation stacks (INS aiding, time sync, data association, mission reliability)
• Experience designing for harsh environments: pressure, corrosion, vibration, temperature, EMC/EMI
• Experience mentoring or technically leading a small team of engineers

Think you're our next teammate? Apply and send links to projects you’ve built—show us what you shipped, what you owned, and why you’re proud of it.