Robotics Engineer

Are you the kind of engineer who got a Robo Sub vehicle through the gate and back to the surface at 2am, not because you had to, but because you couldn't stop?

We're working with a venture-backed defense/maritime startup building something they genuinely can't talk about in detail yet - except that it involves getting hardware into the deepest parts of the ocean and keeping it alive there for years.

They are looking for you to work from Hawaii for the first 6-12 months (they will cover your housing), before moving to the West Coast for the longer-term (or, at least, willing to travel to either regularly)

This isn't a "watch and learn" kind of role.

You'll be:

• Helping build real autonomy into a custom sensor - descent, guidance, and a mechanism that locks it in place once it arrives
• Working across mechanical, electrical, embedded software and controls - deep in one, dangerous in the rest
• Prototyping fast, failing fast, and turning each failure into the next iteration within days
• In the pool, then the ocean - no wasted cycles
• Out on the boat, in the water, in the shop - and owning real pieces of what goes over the side

Yes, they want someone technically capable.

But more than that, they want:

• A hacker, not a theorist - someone who finds what already exists, bolts it together, and gets it in the water today
• The competition-day instinct - something breaks an hour before your run, and you fix it with zip ties and whatever's in the pit, and still make the run
• Someone who takes ownership without being asked, and knows when to pull in someone who knows more

• New graduate or a few years' experience, engineering degree or equivalent hands-on background
• A standout record on a Robo Sub team or comparable competition (MATE ROV, Robo Boat, Robo Nation)
• Hardware you've personally designed, built and debugged that went in the water and worked
• Comfortable working from a boat deck, in the water, and in the shop
• Must be eligible for US security clearance - US citizenship required

Most junior robotics roles have you supporting someone else's project.

This one doesn't.

• You'll own real pieces of the build from first prototype to ocean trial
• You'll work directly alongside senior engineers on hard physics problems, not abstracted away from them
• The company's valuation has doubled in the last seven months - genuine early-stage upside if you want equity exposure alongside salary

If you've already proven you can get hardware into the water and make it work, this is worth a conversation.