Lead Engineer

Job Description

Job Description

Job Title: Lead Engineer

Location: On-Site – Richmond, CA

Reports to: VP of Technology & Innovation

About Us:

OPT provides intelligent maritime solutions and services that enable safer, cleaner, and more productive ocean operations for the defense and security, oil and gas, science and research, and offshore wind markets, including Merrows™, which provides AI-capable seamless integration of Maritime Domain Awareness Systems across platforms. Our PowerBuoy® platforms provide clean and reliable electric power and real-time data communications for remote maritime and subsea applications. We also provide WAM-V® unmanned surface vehicles (USV’s) and marine robotics services. The Company’s headquarters is located in Monroe Township, New Jersey and has an additional office in Richmond, California.

The Role:

We are seeking a Lead Engineer to help lead the multidisciplinary engineering team in our Richmond, CA office, supporting the development and deployment of WAM-V® autonomous surface vehicles and PowerBuoy® systems. This role is ideal for a highly capable, hands-on engineer who thrives in fast-paced prototyping and field deployment environments, building, testing, iterating, and solving practical engineering problems. You will work closely with multidisciplinary engineering and integration teams to drive engineering execution and help deliver robust, field-ready systems.

The Lead Engineer will serve as a technical mentor and coordination point across engineering disciplines, helping align development efforts, unblock technical challenges, and maintain momentum across multiple concurrent projects. This role remains deeply hands-on and will involve active participation in system bring-up, reviewing designs, debugging, testing, and field operations. The ideal candidate is comfortable taking ownership of complex technical problems from concept through deployment and helping drive systems to operational readiness. This is a high-impact role with the opportunity to help shape the evolution of next-generation marine robotics systems while working directly on real-world autonomous platforms.

Responsibilities:

• Lead day-to-day technical execution across multidisciplinary engineering efforts
• Lead a team of 5-7 mechanical, electrical, and mechatronics engineers and work closely with software and integration teams to deliver reliable, field-ready systems
• Support system integration, bring-up, debugging, and validation of WAM-V® and PowerBuoy® platforms
• Coordinate engineering execution, planning, and resource allocation across multiple concurrent development efforts, prototype builds, and sea trials
• Work directly on challenging technical problems involving electromechanical systems, communications, controls, and autonomous behaviors
• Conduct design reviews and provide hands-on mentorship to engineers across disciplines
• Collaborate closely with software architecture and systems integration teams to ensure subsystem compatibility and successful platform integration
• Collaborate with the commercial team on contract-specific development efforts and overall VoM for internal project scope
• Support prioritization, task coordination, and engineering execution in partnership with leadership
• Assist with field testing, sea trials, and operational deployments
• Help establish and reinforce engineering best practices, documentation standards, and development processes
• Contribute to hiring and development of engineering staff

Qualifications:

Required:

• US citizenship
• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Computer, or related discipline)
• Minimum 6+ years of engineering experience in complex electromechanical or robotics systems
• Strong system-level understanding of integrated hardware/software systems
• Hands-on experience with system design, integration, debugging, and field testing
• Proficiency in project management tools
• Familiarity with at least some combination of embedded systems, firmware, CAD, controls, networking, or electromechanical integration
• Experience working across multidisciplinary engineering teams
• Strong technical problem-solving skills in fast-paced development environments
• Ability to mentor engineers and support cross-functional collaboration
• Familiarity with networking, communications systems, embedded systems, or controls
• Willingness to participate in field deployments and sea trials
• Excellent communication and problem-solving skills and ability to operate effectively in ambiguous, fast-paced environments

Desired:

• Master’s degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Computer, or related discipline)
• Experience with robotics, autonomous systems, marine systems, or unmanned vehicles
• Experience with embedded systems, controls, and real-time software
• Experience working in prototyping-heavy, hardware-focused environments
• Experience supporting field deployments and operating systems in real-world environments
• Prior experience mentoring engineers or leading small technical teams
• Eligibility for U.S. government security clearance (if required)

Ocean Power Technologies provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, creed, ancestry, national origin, citizenship, sex or gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, and pregnancy-related conditions), gender identity or expression (including transgender status), sexual orientation, marital status, religion, age, disability, genetic information, service in the military, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws and ordinances. Equal employment opportunity applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leave of absence, compensation, and training.

Salary range is $155,000 - $165,000 and includes the following:

• Bonus potential
• Restricted Stock Award

Benefits include:

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• Life Insurance
• Disability Insurance
• 401(k)