Blue Water Autonomy Inc. · 4 hours ago
Automation & Autonomy Systems Engineer
Lexington, MA
Full-time
Onsite
Senior Level
$150K/yr - $190K/yr
7+ years expBlue Water Autonomy Inc. is an early-stage, maritime defense technology startup focused on designing and building autonomous ships. The role involves developing automation and autonomy systems for an autonomous vessel platform, including system design, hardware selection, and integration activities.
TransportationManufacturingLogisticsMachinery ManufacturingMarine TransportationShipping
No H1B
Responsibilities
Define and maintain the system architecture: interfaces, ICDs, data flows, timing/synchronization, states/modes, and safety concepts
Author and maintain the CONOPS and operational scenarios; derive, decompose, and trace requirements to subsystems and verification methods
Perform failure analysis (FMEA/FTA/HAZOP/STPA) and design safety mechanisms: interlocks, watchdogs, redundancy, degraded modes, and rollback procedures
Lead hardware selection and trade studies for sensors, actuators, controllers, networking, compute, and safety equipment; document rationale and constraints
Partner with software, autonomy, and marine engineering to design control loops, communication topics (DDS/ROS2), QoS, timing, and fault handling; align interfaces and test hooks
Plan and lead HIL testing: design benches/simulators, implement fault injection, define acceptance criteria, and automate regression where practical
Lead integrated system bring‑up on the vessel; execute test procedures, collect/synchronize telemetry, analyze performance, and drive corrective actions
Establish configuration baselines and change control for system interfaces and software/hardware revisions
Produce clear systems engineering artifacts: architecture diagrams, ICDs, requirements, verification plans, test procedures, and evidence reports
Collaborate with operations to ensure safe procedures for lab and sea trials; support demos with customers and stakeholders
Qualification
Required
Hands-on systems engineer for robotics/autonomy or complex electro-mechanical products; comfortable moving between architecture and on-ship integration
Experienced with automation and control systems, safety systems, and systems-of-systems engineering
Able to write and manage CONOPS, requirements, ICDs, and verification plans with traceability
Proficient in failure analysis methods (FMEA, FTA, HAZOP, STPA) and designing practical mitigations
Fluent with sensors/actuators, embedded controllers, CAN/CAN-FD, Ethernet, switch configuration, time-sensitive networking, and time sync (PTP/NTP)
Experienced planning/executing HIL, integration, and reproducible regression tests; strong in data collection and post-test analysis
Organized and pragmatic; balances scope/schedule while protecting system safety and test integrity
You have 7+ years of relevant experience across hardware and software systems; prior autonomy/robotics/maritime/defense/aerospace experience is highly valued
Preferred
MBSE/SysML/UML and requirements tools (Cameo, Enterprise Architect, DOORS/Jama)
ROS2/DDS expertise, QoS configuration, and real-time middleware design
Safety/functional standards familiarity (IEC 61508 or maritime equivalents); experience preparing compliance artifacts
Test automation for HIL and CI; simulators (Gazebo/Ignition) or custom benches for fault injection
Time sync and telemetry pipelines; log analysis tooling and dashboards
Experience leading sea trial test events and integrated system acceptance
Benefits
Startup equity options
Health, dental, vision, PTO
Company
Blue Water Autonomy Inc.
We’re building autonomous ships for the U.S. Navy and commercial customers.
2-10 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Early StageTotal Funding
$64MKey Investors
Google VenturesEclipse Ventures
2025-08-26Series A· $50M
2025-04-11Seed· $14M
Leadership Team
Rylan Hamilton
CEO and Co-Founder
Ryan Maatta
Vice President of marine engineering
Recent News
2025-11-03
Company data provided by crunchbase