Boat Pilot Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Role: Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) Pilot

Location: San Diego, CA (in-office)

Typical working hours: Rotating shift coverage across 24/7 operations, including:

• 12:00 AM - 8:00 AM
• 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
• 4:00 PM - 12:00 AM

Pilots are typically assigned one weekend shift as part of their regular schedule. Holiday coverage may be required based on operational needs.

Salary Range: $75,000-$100,000 /yr + stock options, 401k matching, relocation assistance within the U.S. (if applicable), and other benefits

Role Overview:

Seasats operates a growing fleet of unmanned surface vessels (USVs) in real-world testing and customer environments. To support ongoing development, validation, and operations, we're hiring USV Pilots to remotely operate, monitor, and support these vehicles during daily missions.

This is primarily an in-office, computer-based role. In this role, you'll be responsible for piloting USVs through our control interface, monitoring vehicle health and mission progress in real time, and supporting testing and customer operations as they happen. Your judgment and attention directly impact vehicle safety, mission success, and how our systems evolve.

Role Details:

Day-to-day responsibilities include:

• Remotely piloting Seasats USVs through our control UI during testing and customer operations
• Monitoring live vehicle status, environment, and system behavior during active operations
• Responding to alerts, anomalies, or unexpected behavior in real time
• Executing test plans and operational procedures as defined
• Communicating observations, issues, and feedback clearly to engineering and operations teams
• Logging events, issues, and results to support debugging, validation, and iteration
• Contributing to improvements in testing procedures, tooling, and operator workflows

Work Environment:

• This role is performed from an in-office control station in San Diego
• Involves extended periods working at a computer monitoring live systems and data feeds
• Limited fieldwork; on-water interaction is occasional and not a core function of the role
• Travel is minimal and situational, not a standard part of the job
• Operations run across multiple time windows; shift coverage may include daytime, evening, or overnight hours

About You:

You're someone who is comfortable spending long stretches monitoring systems, making decisions based on incomplete information, and staying level-headed when things go wrong. You enjoy working with technology, following procedures, and being a key part of real-world operations.

You'll need to be:

• Attentive, reliable, and detail-oriented
• Comfortable operating software-driven systems and dashboards
• Calm under pressure and able to respond quickly to changing conditions
• A clear written and verbal communicator
• Willing to work non-traditional hours when required
• Safety-conscious and thoughtful in your decision-making
• Comfortable spending the majority of the workday at a desk monitoring systems and interfaces
• Able to obtain a security clearance

Due to export control requirements applicable to this position, we are only able to consider U.S. persons, as defined by U.S. export control laws. This includes U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and individuals granted asylee or refugee status.

In addition, it's nice (though not essential) if you have:

• Experience operating autonomous systems, robotics, or similar systems
• Maritime or boating experience
• Experience with testing, QA, or field operations
• Familiarity with mapping tools, telemetry, or monitoring systems
• Experience with video games, simulators, or RC vehicles

About Seasats:

At Seasats, we're passionate about delivering maritime robotics solutions to redefine the maritime industry. Our primary products are unmanned surface vessels (USVs), designed to carry sensors at sea for months at a time. Our USVs provide persistent monitoring and data acquisition to defense, scientific, and commercial customers, and have autonomously crossed both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. After thousands of years in which the only way to gather information from the ocean was to put people on a boat, these uncrewed vessels are transforming how humanity monitors and interacts with the ocean. Here, you'll find the space and opportunity to do your life's best work.

Along with your salary, you'll receive perks including:

• Stock options
• Competitive insurance (including a 99% employer-covered Gold HMO plan or other options)
• 401k matching up to 4% of salary
• Four free lunches per week
• An employee activity fund
• A pet-friendly office
• Unlimited/Flex PTO

Hiring Notes:

When applying, you'll be asked to provide a resume and answer a few screening questions.

Please note that we are currently unable to sponsor employment visas, so candidates must be independently authorized to work in the United States.

We appreciate diverse perspectives and life experiences, and we're committed to building a team that reflects a wide range of backgrounds. Seasats provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination of any type based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under federal, state, or local law.

We look forward to reviewing your application!