Senior Mechanical 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 Role

Saildrone designs, builds, and deploys autonomous surface vehicles (USVs) that operate continuously for months at a time in the harsh ocean environment. The Senior Mechanical Engineering Manager will lead the mechanical engineering team responsible for the detail design of all electro-mechanical sub-assemblies onboard the Saildrone USV platforms and maintaining the total vehicle Bill of Materials for all sensor configurations. This includes component and sub-assembly design of systems for actuation and control, power generation, propulsion, sensor integration, thermal management, corrosion protection, and environmental enclosures.

Reporting to the Head of Hardware Engineering, this leader will own the mechanical engineering execution pipeline — ensuring high-quality design, clear documentation, disciplined review practices, and timely delivery. This role requires a strong technical foundation in mechanical design, combined with leadership ability to guide a growing team through rapid iteration cycles and production scaling.

The ideal candidate is hands-on, detail-driven, pragmatic, and experienced in designing field- deployed systems that must survive real-world stress at production scale.

Responsibilities

Mechanical Engineering Leadership

• Lead the mechanical engineering team, including assignment of work, priority setting, and daily technical support.
• Define and enforce mechanical engineering quality standards, workflows, documentation practices, and release processes.
• Ensure consistency and rigor in CAD modeling, tolerance analysis, assembly detailing, and revision control.

Design Review & Technical Excellence

• Run mechanical design reviews to ensure designs meet performance, manufacturability, serviceability, and reliability requirements.
• Review part and assembly drawings for clarity, accuracy, and adherence to GD&T internal standards.
• Ensure robustness of mechanical systems under dynamic load, vibration, corrosion, thermal cycling, and long-duration ocean deployment.

Delivery & Execution

• Translate product requirements into mechanical design plans, schedules, and deliverables.
• Collaborate closely with Electrical, Firmware, Vehicle Software, Systems Engineering, and NPI teams to ensure smooth integration.
• Support issue triage and root cause analysis during prototype, production, and sustaining product development phases.

Team Development & Culture

• Mentor, develop, and elevate mechanical engineering talent across all levels.
• Build and reinforce a culture of ownership, precision, and rapid iteration.
• Recruit and scale the team to meet increasing demand for design rigor and to support business growth.

Manufacturing & Operations Collaboration

• Partner with NPI, Supply Chain, and Manufacturing Engineering to ensure designs are manufacturable, cost-effective and production-ready.
• Support prototype and pilot production build phases to enable proof of concept, requirements validation, and design for manufacturing efforts.

Required Skills and Experience

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or related discipline
• 10+ years of experience designing complex mechanical systems; 3+ years in an engineering leadership role.
• Strong proficiency in CAD modeling, drawing creation and mechanical design fundamentals (material selection and coatings, structural design, thermal analysis, fastener selection, sealing methodologies, BOM management, etc.).
• Experience designing hardware for harsh outdoor or mission-critical environments (maritime, aerospace, defense, robotics, automotive, etc.).
• Experience with electro-mechanical assemblies, servo motors, embedded devices, pcba enclosures, cooling systems, and composite materials.
• Hands-on experience in design, build, and test cycles resulting in products with a high level of polish and reliability.
• Proven track record of delivering high value products to market.
• Excellent communication, documentation, and technical review discipline.
• Thrives in fast-paced environments where clarity, urgency, and precision matter.

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

All employees are required to provide proof of authorization to work in the U.S. within their first 3 days of work. Please note that the Company does not sponsor employees for work visas or permanent resident cards to work in the U.S. If you need sponsorship for a work visa or green card, you will not be qualified for employment with Saildrone.

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 AlamedaTMA with the BayPass Clipper Card

Individual compensation packages are based on geographic location, scope of the role, and relevant experience, among other factors.

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