Vehicle Assembly & Service Technician

About Saildrone

Saildrone is a defense company delivering maritime intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance products to military, homeland security, and commercial customers. Saildrone unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) are extreme-endurance platforms equipped with advanced sensors and proprietary AI to provide persistent insights above and below the sea surface. Insights that support border security, law enforcement, undersea infrastructure protection, hydrography, and naval power applications. With more than 2,000,000 nautical miles sailed and 50,000 days at sea, Saildrone USVs are trusted by governments across the planet and set the standard for cost-efficient maritime intelligence in the world s harshest environments.

We are based in Alameda, CA, with offices in Washington DC and St. Petersburg, FL, and operate missions worldwide. This is an exciting opportunity with a fast-growing team at the cutting-edge intersection of big data services, autonomy, and AI. You will be part of a high-performing, multidisciplinary team delivering data, intelligence, and firepower for strategic superiority.

Saildrone s autonomous surface vehicles operate for unprecedented periods of time in the most unforgiving environments on the planet. From inside of hurricanes to the frigid waters of the Arctic, the stresses they endure are immense. The technical execution of preparing the vehicles for their mission and servicing their constituent parts must be performed with a high degree of skill and consistency.

As a Vehicle Assembly & Service Technician, you will be responsible for constructing and servicing Saildrone vehicles as well as training and leading others to do the same.

You will collaborate with a variety of teams in engineering, operations, and production. You will interact with clients and lead teams, both in the shop and around the world, to execute assembly and service operations. You will help turn in-field realities into product improvements, serving as an important link between our end users and the teams at Saildrone who design our products.

• Lead the assembly and service workflows for Saildrone’s vehicle fleet, ensuring that our drones are fully mission capable and able to maintain exceptionally high uptime.
• Travel domestically and internationally to deploy and repair Saildrone vehicles.
• Train contractors, clients, and other third-parties on how to assemble and service Saildrone vehicles.
• Provide input on how to improve in-field assembly and service procedures as well as vehicle designs.

A top performer in this role will be highly motivated by and skilled in the following areas:

• A skilled technician that understands how to apply fundamentally sound mechanical and electrical skills in a field environment.
• Act with self-awareness and professionalism when interacting with Saildrone clients and colleagues.
• Passion for teaching and coaching others on how to perform technical procedures.
• Possess high standards for doing things the right way. Able to lead and hold others accountable for achieving that same standard.
• Ability to assess current processes and determine how they could improve to achieve increased safety, consistency, and efficiency.
• Desire to take ownership of and responsibility for the outcome of operational execution.

Skills that are necessary to executing the core functions of this role are listed below.

• Desire and ability to provide industry-defining customer service for both external customers and Saildrone colleagues.
• Ability to simplify technical concepts and product knowledge to teach and coach end-users on vehicle assembly and service.
• 5 or more years of experience executing operations involving the application of fundamentally sound electrical and mechanical skills while performing a technical service role in a field, shipyard, or heavy industrial environment, following service instructions/diagrams, using tools ranging from basic hand tools to heavy equipment and rigging.
• Ability to lead and work in teams, to include third-party contractors, to execute operational plans and deliver on contractual obligations.
• Maintain appropriate records and inventories. Possess organizational habits and a willingness to define, follow, and improve safety, process, and work standards.

Here s a non-exhaustive list of specific skills where prior knowledge or experience would lend itself to high performance:

• Prior experience planning, leading, and performing technically complex operations in the field for a global OEM servicing the automotive, aerospace, shipyard, offshore oil and gas, heavy civil/mining, renewable energy, or telecommunications industries.
• Prior experience in a fast-paced, start-up environment or an advanced serviceability/manufacturability of design role. Able to develop/create technical repair content to support global standardization and service documentation for safety, quality, and repeatability.
• Possess the ability to systematically…