Senior Electrical Engineering Manager

About Us

With more than 2 million nautical miles sailed and 50,000 days at sea, Saildrone has earned the trust of governments worldwide. Our unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) deliver continuous, real‑time intelligence in the toughest oceans on Earth—giving our partners faster awareness, stronger security, and a decisive edge at sea.

Our USVs are long‑range, extreme‑endurance platforms powered by advanced sensors and proprietary AI - they have been designed to operate where no crewed vessel can. They collect critical insights above and below the surface to support border security, law enforcement, naval operations, and undersea infrastructure protection.

Headquartered in Alameda, CA, with offices in Washington, DC, and global deployment hubs, Saildrone operates missions worldwide. Join a fast‑moving, mission‑driven team at the intersection of AI, autonomy, and defense technology—where data turns into intelligence, and intelligence drives action.

The Electrical Engineering Manager will lead Saildrone’s electrical engineering team, responsible for the design, development, and integration of electrical systems for Saildrone’s autonomous surface vehicles. These systems include power generation and distribution, control electronics, PCB design, wiring harnesses, and integration with compute, payload, and communications systems. Reporting directly to the Head of Engineering, this role will provide technical leadership to ensure delivery of reliable, efficient, and mission‑ready electrical systems.

This role is responsible for driving execution for all electrical aspects of the technical roadmap, ensuring high performance and innovation within the EE group, enforcing quality and compliance with relevant electrical and marine standards, while enabling close collaboration and seamless touch points with Mechanical, Firmware, and Software teams. The ideal candidate will bring extensive experience in electrical engineering and PCBA design.

Proven leadership skills, and the ability to thrive in a fast‑paced, high‑growth environment, ideally within the defense, aerospace, or maritime sectors.

• Lead and mentor the electrical engineering team, fostering a culture of technical excellence, collaboration, and accountability.
• Own the vehicle electrical architecture, ensuring performance, reliability, manufacturability, and scalability.
• Provide technical oversight across all electrical design and integration projects.
• Set clear priorities and goals that align with higher‑level company objectives.

• Oversee the design, simulation, and validation of electrical systems including PCBAs, power systems, wiring harnesses, control electronics and integration of third‑party sensors or equipment.
• Ensure all designs meet electrical performance, safety, environmental, and compliance requirements for maritime and defense use.
• Collaborate with firmware, hardware, and systems teams to ensure smooth integration.
• Participate in design reviews and provide feedback.

• Translate program, executive, and mission goals into actionable electrical engineering workflows.
• Manage schedules, resources, and deliverables to ensure timely, high‑quality outputs.
• Implement rigorous testing, validation, and quality assurance processes for electrical hardware and software.

• Partner with Firmware, Mechanical, Technical Program Management, Quality, and Manufacturing teams to ensure designs satisfy overall vehicle requirements.
• Manage engineering support for field operations, troubleshooting, and failure analysis for deployed systems.
• Promote effective communication across departments to align technical work with strategic objectives.

• Ensure compliance with relevant defense, maritime, and electrical safety standards, such as IPC, MIL‑STD, UL, IEEE, ABYC, and ABS.
• Maintain documentation, configuration control, and revision tracking for all designs.

• Recruit, retain, and develop top‑tier electrical engineering talent.
• Provide career development, coaching, and performance management for team…