Apply on Employer Site

Saildrone · 1 month ago

Technical Operations Engineer - Mission Watchfloor

Washington, DC

Full-time

Onsite

Entry, Mid Level

$100K/yr - $150K/yr

2+ years exp

Saildrone is a leader in unmanned surface vehicle technology, delivering critical data and insights for various maritime operations. The Watchfloor Technical Operations Engineer will monitor system health and diagnose issues in real-time to ensure the operational success of Saildrone's global fleet.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)Big DataDronesManufacturingMarine Technology

No H1B

Responsibilities

Develop a top-to-bottom understanding of complex sensors and embedded systems as they relate to an entire, functioning system

Monitor live vehicle operations across the global fleet, providing real-time technical overwatch using telemetry and diagnostic tools to proactively identify anomalies and emerging issues

Provide internal customer service to supported mission execution teams to quickly resolve any technical issues they experience, including performing readiness reviews and pre-deployment checks to ensure vehicles are fully mission-capable

Build trust with cross-functional teams and participate in root cause analysis to identify areas for improvement

Deliver structured technical feedback into engineering, helping to shape long-term fixes, design revisions, and reliability improvements

Provide on-call support to troubleshoot, diagnose, and fix software, hardware, and networking issues on autonomous surface vehicles

Participate in on-call rotations for high-impact, high-priority issue resolution

Develop and maintain troubleshooting playbooks, documentation, and tools to speed up incident response and improve team consistency

Contribute directly to fleet reliability metrics, maintaining accountability for vehicle uptime, mission success rates, and incident resolution performance

Qualification

Technical operations engineeringElectrical diagrams/schematicsLinux OS command-line toolsTelemetry interpretationBasic scripting BashBasic scripting PythonNetwork protocols TCP/IPNetwork protocols HTTPCAD tools NXCAD tools SolidworksPeople skillsOrganizational habitsDocumentation skills

Required

2+ years in a field support, systems integration, operations engineering, or technical watchfloor environment

Ability to independently apply knowledge of electrical diagrams/schematics, and mechanical systems to identify a problem with a product, determine the cause, and execute an appropriate repair

Familiar with electrical, mechanical, and materials engineering concepts

Able to context switch quickly to respond to new and urgent issues

Comfortable obtaining data and diagnosing issues from software and networking platforms using command-line tools on a Linux OS

Strong understanding of electrical, mechanical, and networking fundamentals, and how these disciplines interact within complex embedded systems for diagnostics, log parsing, and system interrogation

Proven ability to interpret telemetry, logs, and system metrics to diagnose complex performance issues

Basic scripting ability (Bash, Python, or similar) to automate repetitive diagnostics or data-gathering tasks

Maintain appropriate records and inventories. Possess organizational habits and a willingness to define, follow, and improve process and work standards

Strong people skills and an ability to work with a wide variety of teams as a leader, and a follower

Willingness to work flexible hours, including participation in an off-hours on-call rotation for fleet continuity

Preferred

Experience in field engineering, test engineering, operations engineering, or integration/prototype roles

Experience in mission operations, NOC, or remote monitoring environments

Knowledge of service-level objectives and metrics (SLI, SLO, SLA, Error Budget, Burn Rate)

Experience applying continuous improvement and root cause analysis to scale operations in a start-up environment

Familiarity with network and message protocols (TCP/IP, HTTP, CAN, RS-485, RS-232, SPI, I2C, routing, ACLs) and using APIs to interact with processes and components

Experience with autonomous systems, marine electronics, or sensor payloads

Proficiency in industry-standard CAD tools (NX, Solidworks, Fusion 360, EAGLE, KiCad, Altium)

Experience leading teams, including third-party contractors, to execute operational plans and deliver on contractual obligations on time and within budget

Strong documentation skills: writing process standards, procedures, and work instructions

Familiarity with project management tools (Jira, Confluence, Asana, Monday, etc.)

Experience in marine operations