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Saronic Technologies is developing autonomous surface vessels for maritime defense. This Senior Forward Deployed Software Engineer role is based in Arlington, VA (Washington, DC area) and blends software development, field deployment, and real-world problem-solving to integrate and optimize autonomous systems in operational maritime environments.
You will be responsible for designing, developing, and optimizing advanced software systems for autonomy, networking, and mission execution in dynamic maritime settings. Key responsibilities include:
- Lead design and optimization of autonomy, networking, and mission-execution software with focus on robust performance in maritime environments
- Drive field testing and deployment strategies, validating autonomy, perception, and control systems under operational conditions
- Analyze mission-critical performance data and translate operational insights into high-impact software improvements
- Architect and integrate new autonomy capabilities across software, sensors, and vessel hardware while maintaining modular, scalable design
- Partner directly with operators, mission planners, and end-users to translate feedback into actionable requirements
- Lead incident response and root cause analysis for complex cross-disciplinary issues spanning software, hardware, and networking
- Mentor cross-functional teams and establish technical standards, deployment protocols, and documentation
- Support field deployments (up to 50% travel) and refine autonomous systems in operational contexts
This role is ideal if you want to see your code deployed on real vessels in real missions, enjoy tackling integration and deployment challenges, can work independently as the technical expert on-site, and prefer solving problems through code. It is not a pilot/flight test role, not primarily hands-on hardware assembly, and involves variable schedules tied to demos, weather, and mission needs.
QUALIFICATIONS:
- 5+ years developing autonomy or robotics systems with strong software engineering foundation
- Proficient in C++, Rust, Python, or similar languages; experience with performance-critical systems
- Deep technical background in robotics, autonomy, or embedded systems, particularly maritime, aerospace, or defense
- Strong understanding of networking protocols and distributed systems (TCP/IP, UDP, DDS, ROS, ZeroMQ)
- Extensive hands-on experience with perception sensors (cameras, radar, GPS, IMUs) and real-time sensor fusion
- Proven ability to debug and resolve complex cross-disciplinary issues spanning software, hardware, networking, and autonomy
- Experience adapting autonomy systems to real-world constraints (variable environments, limited communications, platform-specific limitations)
- Willingness and capability to lead field deployments (up to 50%), with history of testing autonomous systems in operational maritime or expeditionary contexts
- Expertise in motion planning, control systems, and behavior architectures (behavior trees, adaptive navigation)
- Domain knowledge in maritime systems, naval operations, or defense technology
- Familiarity with distributed autonomy and multi-agent coordination
- Leadership in system integration, testing, and operationalization across engineering, product, and field teams
Note: This role requires U.S. Person status (U.S. citizen, green card holder, or certain protected asylees/refugees) due to access to export-controlled information.
