Ship Design Manager

Blue Water Autonomy • Washington, DC

2d • $125,000 - $160,000

About The Position

The Ship Design Manager supports the planning, execution, and technical integration of ship programs from concept development through design, build, test, and delivery. This role bridges program management and naval architecture/ship design, ensuring cost, schedule, performance, and technical requirements are aligned across multidisciplinary teams developing complex autonomous maritime systems.
The ideal candidate is technically grounded, highly organized, and comfortable working across hull, mechanical, electrical, autonomy, and mission systems while supporting customer, regulatory, and internal stakeholders.

Requirements

• Degree in relevant Engineering field, mechanical, marine, naval architecture or similar.
• 5+ years of relevant work experience with preference for technical design product development as well as program management as a team lead or personnel manager.

Nice To Haves

• Advanced degree, certificates or course work in Engineering or Program management preferred
• PE license, Six Sigma, PMP certifications or similar preferred
• Professional publications in relevant disciplines of interest.

Responsibilities

• Support the Program Manager in planning and executing ship programs across the full lifecycle.
• Track cost, schedule, technical performance, and risk; assist with program reporting and reviews.
• Coordinate internal teams to ensure milestones, deliverables, and contractual requirements are met.
• Assist with proposal development, work breakdown structures (WBS), schedules, and resource planning.
• Support customer engagements, technical interchange meetings (TIMs), and program reviews.
• Support ship design activities including hull form, arrangements, structures, propulsion, electrical power, autonomy hardware integration, and payload systems.
• Assist in managing interfaces between hull/mechanical systems, electrical systems, autonomy software, sensors, and mission payloads.
• Help maintain technical baselines, configuration control, and design documentation.
• Support trade studies, design reviews (SRR, PDR, CDR), and technical decision-making.
• Coordinate with naval architects, marine engineers, autonomy engineers, and suppliers to resolve design and integration issues.
• Support requirements development, allocation, and traceability for autonomous surface vessels.
• Assist with integration of autonomy, navigation, collision avoidance, and remote operations systems into the ship design.
• Support verification and validation planning, including dock trials, sea trials, and autonomy testing.
• Help ensure compliance with applicable maritime regulations, class rules, and customer requirements.
• Track technical, cost, and schedule risks and support mitigation planning.
• Support engineering change control and configuration management processes.
• Assist with lessons learned and continuous improvement initiatives

Benefits

• Incredibly high-caliber teammates. You’ll work directly with our co-founders Rylan, Scott, and Austin.
• A fast-paced, creative working environment that offers a lot of room for ownership and growth.
• Opportunity to join a meaningful mission that protects American and our Democracy.
• Salary Range: $125,000 - $160,000 annual base salary (final compensation will depend on experience and skill level
• Startup equity options
• Generous PTO, medical, dental, and vision coverage.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager