Staff Scientist — Marine Acoustics

Sofar Ocean; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 121,000 - 171,000; Full time

Job summary

Sofar Ocean is seeking an experienced scientist in underwater acoustics to advance their sensing capabilities. You will contribute significantly to the acoustics research strategy, develop detection systems, and collaborate with cross-functional teams to create operational products.

The ideal candidate has deep expertise in underwater acoustics, experience with real-world datasets, and a Ph.D. or equivalent in a related field. A competitive salary range of $121,000 - $171,000 is offered, and bonus points for familiarity with embedded systems.

Qualifications

• Deep expertise in underwater acoustics.
• Experience developing acoustic sensing systems or algorithms.
• Strong understanding of marine acoustic signal processing.

Responsibilities

• Help shape Sofar’s acoustics research strategy.
• Develop capabilities for detecting and localizing underwater objects.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to translate research into products.

Skills

Underwater acoustics

Signal processing

Machine learning

Statistical signal processing

Communication skills

Education

Ph.D. in acoustics, ocean engineering, or related field

Job description

The Role:

Sofar designs, builds, and deploys ocean sensing networks at a global scale that provide unique observational knowledge of the ocean environment. We are expanding our sensing capabilities into underwater acoustics to detect, classify, and locate underwater objects, and to create an acoustic map of the marine environment. We are looking for an experienced scientist in ocean acoustics to help shape and advance Sofar’s underwater acoustics platform.

Responsibilities:

• Help shape Sofar’s acoustics research and development strategy, contributing scientific and technical direction for an underwater acoustics platform that supports real‑world marine applications.
• Develop capabilities to detect, classify, and localize underwater objects using passive and/or active acoustic sensing methods.
• Advance methods for creating acoustic maps of the marine environment, including characterization of ambient soundscapes, propagation conditions, and relevant oceanographic context.
• Provide an acoustics‑centric perspective on sensing system design, deployment strategy, data quality, and performance validation.
• Collaborate with Sofar’s oceanic and sensing scientists, software engineers, and firmware teams to translate acoustic research into operational products.
• Coordinate and conduct field experiments, data analyses, and simulation studies to evaluate acoustic system performance in real‑world ocean conditions.
• Bring deep expertise in marine acoustics to complement Sofar’s ocean science, sensing, and forecasting teams.
• Contribute to product requirements, technical roadmaps, and research priorities for new underwater acoustic capabilities.
• Represent Sofar externally with customers, research partners, government agencies, and the broader ocean acoustics community.

Minimum Job Qualifications:

• Deep expertise in underwater acoustics.
• Experience developing acoustic sensing systems or algorithms for detection, classification, localization, mapping, or environmental characterization.
• Strong understanding of marine acoustic propagation, ambient noise, signal processing, and the practical constraints of ocean sensing.
• Experience working with real‑world acoustic datasets, field deployments, and/or operational sensing systems.
• Experience applying statistical signal processing, machine learning, or modern AI methods to acoustic detection, classification, or environmental inference.
• Excellent communication skills, and you excel working in a cross‑functional team.
• Experience translating scientific research into operational products or customer‑facing capabilities.
• Ph.D. in acoustics, ocean engineering, electrical engineering, applied physics, oceanography, or a related field, but we will consider highly qualified candidates of any education level with equivalent experience.
• Strong reputation within the ocean acoustics community, with experience contributing to research programs, technical partnerships, or externally funded work.
• Enthusiasm and experience in leveraging LLMs to magnify personal impact.

Bonus Points:

• Familiarity with embedded sensing systems, firmware constraints, or edge processing for acoustic applications.
• Familiarity with the constraints of autonomous ocean platforms, including limited power, bandwidth, onboard compute, sensor calibration, and long‑duration deployments.
• Comfort working in production codebases when necessary to personally deliver changes.

Estimated Salary Range:

• $121,000 - $171,000
• The range listed is what we reasonably expect to pay for this role at the time of this posting. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range and may be modified in the future. Actual compensation packages are based on several factors that are unique to each candidate, including but not limited to skill set, experience, and equity package.