Senior Naval Architect

About the Company

We are a renewable energy and ocean technology company committed to rapidly developing and deploying technologies that will ensure a sustainable future for Earth by unlocking the vast energy potential of its oceans. Our focus is on capturing civilizational levels of ultra-low-cost renewable energy for applications including computing and affordable renewable fuels delivered to shore.

The company is a public benefit corporation headquartered in Portland, Oregon, and backed by leading venture capitalists, philanthropic investors, university endowments, and private investment offices. We operate as an idea meritocracy in which the best ideas change the company’s direction on a regular basis.

Our staff have worked at organizations such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, Boeing, Tesla, Apple, Virgin Orbit, Astra, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, New Relic, Bridgewater, Raytheon, Disney Imagineering, and the US Army and Air Force, as well as research universities, startups, and small companies across a range of industries.

About the Job

We are developing a core technology, the “Node”, that will operate in the worst conditions the world’s oceans have to offer for years at a time without human maintenance or intervention.  

As a Senior Naval Architect, you will be a critical contributor to the design and delivery of the Node’s hull - performing stability, weights, and seakeeping analyses; developing structural and mechanical designs; and driving drawing releases that keep fabrication on track. Your work will ensure our ocean-deployed systems are seaworthy, fabrication-ready, and high-performing in the harshest marine conditions. You will apply the lens of naval architecture across the Node program, driving requirements for stability, seakeeping, and marine operations. You will also contribute to hydrodynamic analyses and lead multidisciplinary investigations into hydrodynamic loads. We expect you to be especially strong in analysis and to gravitate toward first-principles, fundamental-physics approaches to problem-solving.

Candidates should have strong interpersonal skills and be able to thrive in a creative, scrappy, and collaborative environment in which the best ideas change the company’s direction on a regular basis. You will own your designs cradle-to-grave, from first concept through fabrication and deployment at sea. If you are an excellent engineer, regardless of your background, we want you to apply.

Responsibilities

• Perform and maintain stability and weights & balances analyses using GHS and other internal tools.
• Develop and release Node structure drawings, driving drawing releases to keep fabrication ungated.
• Perform detailed design of mechanical, structural, and support subsystems (e.g., human access, shoreside support).
• Determine requirements for the Node program relating to stability, seakeeping, mooring, structures, and marine operations.
• Drive hydrodynamic loads investigations involving multidisciplinary teams.
• Contribute to Orcaflex analyses and hydrodynamic studies.
• Drive Node program strategies for corrosion mitigation and biofouling prevention.
• Work closely with the Marine Operations Engineering team to develop concepts of operations and ensure Nodes can be safely and reliably deployed and recovered at sea.
• Serve as a naval architecture focal for external communications with regulators, insurance partners, and marine surveyors.
• Lead and participate in design reviews with the internal team and interface with external fabricators and vendors.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Naval Architecture, Marine Engineering, Ocean Engineering, or similar field.
• 5+ years of professional experience performing stability, seakeeping, and weights/balances analyses in a Naval Architecture role.
• Professional experience using GHS or equivalent vessel stability software (e.g. Maxsurf, Orca3D).
• Professional experience using a parametric CAD package (e.g. NX, Solidworks) to model parts, assemblies, and generate fabrication drawings.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to provide guidance and technical material to engineers, designers, technicians, and suppliers, adeptly receiving and incorporating their guidance and technical information into your approach.
• Confidence working independently to drive a project forward.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience with RANS theory and tools (Star-CCM+, OpenFoam)
• Experience using high-end hydrodynamics analysis software to estimate vessel motions (e.g. Ansys AQWA, Maxsurf Motion, WAMIT).
• Proficiency with Orcaflex.
• 5+ years of 3D CAD modeling experience.
• Experience with NX/Teamcenter.
• Experience with Rhino3D CAD software.
• Experience with finite element analysis (NX NASTRAN, FEMAP) software packages.
• Experience using Python, Julia, MATLAB, or a similar programming language for data review and analysis.
• Experience using AI tools (e.g. Cursor, Claude, Copilot) for programming and analysis workflows.
• Experience working with regulatory and class on novel projects.
• Prior experience working in a marine environment and/or with marine vessels.
• Proficient and frequent user of hand calculations.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, self-starting, and demanding atmosphere.
• A curiosity to learn and a passion for continuous improvement.
• Solid understanding of technical projects from the details to the big picture.
• Strong interpersonal, organizational, and presentation skills.

Additional Requirements

• Travel to vendors and test sites as needed.
• Intermittently able to work longer hours and weekends to support critical needs. While we expect a lot of each other, we also offer a high degree of autonomy and work-life balance.

Compensation and Benefits

If hired for this full-time role, you will receive:

• Cash compensation of $185,000 - $235,000.
• Equity in the company. We’re all owners and if we’re successful, this equity should be far and away the most valuable component of your compensation.
• A benefits package that helps you take care of yourself and your family, including:
  • Flexible paid time off
  • Health insurance (the company pays 100% of gold-level PPO plan for full-time employees, their partners, and dependents)
  • Dental insurance (the company pays 100% for full-time employees, their partners, and dependents)
  • Vision insurance (the company pays 100% for full-time employees, their partners, and dependents)
  • Disability insurance (the company pays 100% for a policy to provide long-term financial support if you become disabled)
  • Ability to contribute to tax-advantaged accounts, including 401(k), health FSA, and dependent care FSA
• Relocation assistance to facilitate your move to Portland (if needed).

Location

This position is full-time and on-site at our office in Portland, Oregon .