Blue Water Autonomy

Compensation

Full Description

Role Summary We are seeking a Senior Infrastructure Engineer to design, build, and maintain the secure, core infrastructure systems that enable reliable autonomous operation across our fleet. In this role, you will take ownership of critical pieces of our infrastructure stack, spanning cloud platforms, onboard compute systems, and deployment pipelines that must function with limited connectivity in demanding physical conditions. Because of our mission, security and compliance are built into our foundation, not bolted on. You will help shape the architecture, build robust systems hands-on, and contribute to the secure technical foundations that future platform teams will scale from. What You'll Do Security & Compliance: Implement and maintain robust infrastructure security across hybrid environments. You will enforce access control, secrets management, and network policies while aligning systems with defense-industry compliance standards (e.g., NIST, CMMC). Architect & Build: Contribute to system and platform-level infrastructure architecture to ensure performance, security, and reliability in harsh and intermittently connected environments. Onboard Compute: Build and maintain onboard compute environments that function as self-contained, fault-tolerant, and highly secure micro–data centers. Cloud Infrastructure: Develop and support secure cloud infrastructure for fleet orchestration, telemetry ingestion, observability, and software deployment. Hardware Management: Manage bare-metal provisioning, hardened operating system configuration, and life-cycle management for shipboard hardware. Deployment Pipelines: Build and optimize CI/CD and release processes that safely and securely deploy autonomy software to vessels in the field, ensuring software supply chain integrity. Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with mechanical, electrical, and autonomy engineers to navigate constraints around power, thermal limits, redundancy, and failure modes. Observability: Implement monitoring, logging, and remote debugging capabilities for distributed systems across the fleet. Field Support: Support system integration and troubleshoot field operations. Who You Are 5+ years of experience in infrastructure, platform, DevSecOps, or SRE roles. Prioritized Security Background: Strong experience designing secure infrastructure and navigating compliance frameworks (such as NIST 800-171, CMMC, FedRAMP, or similar strict regulatory environments). Strong experience building and operating secure cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, or similar, including GovCloud environments). Solid fundamentals in Linux systems, secure networking architectures (Zero Trust principles, VPNs, PKI), and container orchestration. Experience working with bare-metal or on-premise systems in addition to cloud environments. Proven ability to collaborate across engineering disciplines and drive system-level integration efforts while advocating for security best practices. Communicate clearly, balance speed with rigor, and take ownership from initial design through deployment and operation. Energized by solving practical engineering challenges in fast-moving, mission-driven environments. Nice To Haves Direct experience with software supply chain security (e.g., SLSA framework, SBOMs, signed commits/artifacts). Experience mentoring junior engineers or leading complex, cross-functional technical projects. Willingness to push the limits of AI-enabled workflows and processes. An obsessive focus on stakeholder quality of life and experience. What We Offer 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: $150,000 - $190,000 annual base salary (final compensation will depend on experience and skill level) Startup equity options Generous PTO, medical, dental, and vision coverage. Must be a U.S. Person due to required access to U.S. export controlled information or facilities. By applying, you confirm that you are a U.S. Person and can provide acceptable documentation verifying your status if selected. Blue Water Autonomy is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. All employment decisions—including recruitment, hiring, promotion, compensation, benefits, and termination—are made based on qualifications, merit, and business need.