Senior Electrical Engineer

Saildrone is a maritime defense company and the global leader in autonomous unmanned surface vehicles (USVs). With more ocean miles and real‑world operational experience than any USV manufacturer or operator, Saildrone maintains active, combat‑deployed systems supporting national security and force projection around the world, 24/7/365.

Saildrone’s manufacturing and R&D headquarters are located in Alameda, CA, with business development and sales operations in Washington, DC, and deployment hubs in Europe and the Middle East. By combining proven autonomous operations, edge computing, advanced sensing, renewable power, and the most advanced and robust unmanned surface technology on the planet, Saildrone is shaping how the Navy of the future operates.

Join a fast‑moving, mission‑driven team at the forefront of maritime security and autonomous innovation.

Senior Electrical Engineer – Hardware Team

Saildrone is seeking a Senior Electrical Engineer to join our Hardware team. Reporting directly to the VP of Hardware, you will play a critical role in architecting and delivering the mission‑critical embedded hardware that powers our autonomous fleet in the world's harshest maritime environments. We are looking for a technical expert who creates clarity from ambiguity and possesses a "first‑principles" engineering mindset—someone who can pivot seamlessly from high‑level system architecture to hands‑on, component‑level troubleshooting to ensure our robots survive and thrive at sea.

The Hardware team is responsible for the end‑to‑end design, integration, and deployment of the core electrical and mechatronic systems across Saildrone’s fleet. We are focused on delivering robust, power‑efficient, and scalable hardware platforms that enable long‑endurance missions for global maritime domain awareness to provide real‑time access to critical ocean data, operating in a national security and defense environment. Our work directly impacts ocean science and national security, requiring a team that thrives on rapid hardware iteration and uncompromising reliability in demanding offshore environments.

• Perform architectural design of embedded electrical systems—including power distribution, SOC‑based compute clusters, and sensor ingress—to meet stringent performance and ultra‑low power budget targets.
• Be accountable for the full hardware lifecycle, including ownership of high‑density PCB layout in Altium, board bring‑up, validation, and transition to full‑scale commercial production.
• Work closely with firmware, software, mechanical, and product teams to align on hardware abstraction layers and system requirements to ensure successful delivery of cohesive vehicle platforms.
• Carry out day‑to‑day work using advanced lab instrumentation—such as spectrum analyzers, ESD guns, signal generators, and high‑speed differential probes—to prototype, debug, and validate hardware against established standards.
• Monitor for design risks, thermal bottlenecks, or EMI/EMC blockers; take decisive action to implement corrective hardware changes and escalation when schedule or quality thresholds are threatened.
• Adhere to established coding and design standards while contributing suggestions that improve the reliability, scalability, and manufacturability of mixed‑signal hardware assemblies.
• Provide timely updates on progress, technical trade‑offs, and architectural decisions to managers and cross‑functional partners to support alignment on rapid hardware iterations.
• Meet commitments by managing assigned design priorities and proactively raising concerns when vehicle platforms diversify or hardware capacity risks change.

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or a related field; additional relevant experience may substitute for a degree.
• 5-8 years of experience in electronics design, with a proven track record of taking complex embedded systems from concept through to full commercial production.
• Demonstrated proficiency in Altium Designer (schematic and layout) for multi‑layer PCB layout and the use of specialized test equipment like current injection clamps, field probes, and antennas.
• Proven ability to…