Software Engineer, Platform

About Us

Saildrone is an oceanographic survey and maritime defense company creating a paradigm shift in how navies, civil governments, and commercial organizations obtain the real-time, accurate data required to monitor and protect our oceans. Saildrone’s fleet of uncrewed surface vehicles (USVs) carry purpose-built payloads supporting border protection, critical infrastructure security, hydrographic survey, offshore energy, and metocean monitoring. Powered by renewable wind and solar energy, Saildrone USVs provide long-duration operations measured in months, not days.

Proprietary software applications and machine learning technology transform collected data into actionable insights and intelligence.

We are based in Alameda, CA, with offices in Washington DC and St. Petersburg, FL, and operate missions worldwide. We are backed by top-tier investors in the frontier tech and sustainability sectors, including Social Capital, Capricorn, Lux Capital, BOND Capital, and Emerson Collective.

This is an exciting opportunity with a fast-growing team at the cutting-edge intersection of big data services and autonomous hardware. You will be part of a high-performing, multidisciplinary team that delivers high impact for humanity and future generations.

The Role

The Platform team manages the foundational systems that keep our fleet running and enable our customer deliverables. The team is responsible for customer-facing APIs, authentication and authorization systems, automated drone configuration, fleet monitoring systems and much more! With our wide swath of ownership, this team is critical to the growth of our company, meaning your impact will be immediately felt.

As part of this role, you’ll lead complex, multi-team projects, make critical architectural decisions, and ensure the stability and scalability of our platform. Beyond high-level responsibilities, we’re seeking an engineer who’s hands-on and ready to dive in to help us build faster.

Required Skills and Experience

• 7+ years of professional software development experience
• BA/BS in related field or equivalent experience
• Proven ability to lead multi-team projects
• Experience in mentoring senior engineers, fostering both technical and professional growth.
• Strong expertise in Python and/or Type Script.
• Mastery of programming theory and practical application.
• Fluency in code design patterns and their appropriate use cases.
• Experience with Event Driven and Microservice architectures
• Extensive experience with REST APIs, microservices, and cloud infrastructure (AWS, SNS/SQS, Lambda).
• Experience with authentication and authorization mechanisms (e.g. OAuth, OIDC, API Gateways)
• Mastery of relational databases, ideally Postgre
  
  SQL.
• Knowledge of Kubernetes and container orchestration.

Desired Skills and Experience

• Proficiency with Linux/Unix environments
• Experience with infrastructure automation tools (ideally Ansible).
• Experience with gRPC and Protobuf
• Familiarity with frameworks like Hapi (JavaScript), Django REST (Python), and FastAPI (Python).

Physical Requirements

• Work is performed on a computer and requires ability to operate a keyboard and other peripheral devices.

Location:
This position is hybrid in Alameda, CA. Our waterfront office offers beautiful views of San Francisco Bay in always sunny Alameda.

Benefits:

• Paid time off, including vacation, bereavement, jury duty, sick time and parental leave
• Comprehensive and competitive medical, dental and vision plans, and HSA with employer matching.
• Company sponsored life insurance
• Stock Options
• Annual stipend for continued learning and development
• Quarterly company BBQs at our Alameda HQ (bring your friends and family!)
• Free Bay Area Public Transportation via Alameda
  
  TMA with the Bay Pass Clipper Card
• Plenty of snacks in our 3 office locations
• Dog-friendly work environment

A reasonable estimate of the current range is $149,400-$198,000 annually.

Catch up on the latest news about us:

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