Naval Architect

Role details

Greywright is hiring a Naval Architect to lead the build-out and improvement of hull and structural designs for high-performance autonomous craft. You will own the design of laminate composite hulls, from material selection and layup schedules through structural analysis, build, and sea trials.

Our craft must meet U.S. Navy requirements, perform in high sea states, and keep a low signature. You will bring the engineering judgment to balance speed, strength, weight, seakeeping, and signature in a vessel that has no crew aboard.

Requirements

What you'll do

• Lead naval architecture for Greywright's high-performance autonomous craft, maturing existing hull designs and developing new variants through detailed design, build, and trials.
• Design laminate composite hull and deck structures, selecting fibers, resins, and core materials and defining layup schedules.
• Perform structural analysis of composite laminates, including scantling development, FEA, slamming and fatigue loads, and failure analysis.
• Predict and optimize resistance, powering, stability, and seakeeping, with a focus on performance and survivability in high sea states.
• Define and apply U.S. Navy design requirements and standards, and support compliance, certification, and design reviews with Navy customers.
• Develop hull form and structural approaches for signature management, including radar, infrared, acoustic, and visual signatures.
• Manage weight, center of gravity, and the integration of propulsion, payloads, sensors, and autonomy hardware.
• Work with composite builders and suppliers on manufacturability, build quality, and inspection.
• Plan and support model tests and sea trials, and correlate test data with design predictions.
• Own design documentation, drawings, and calculations, and mentor other engineers.

What you bring

• B.S. in Naval Architecture, Marine Engineering, Ocean Engineering, or a closely related field.
• 8+ years of naval architecture experience, including design of high-performance craft such as planing or semi-planing hulls.
• Deep expertise in laminate composite hull design and the material science behind layup schedules, including fiber, resin, and core selection and their effect on strength, stiffness, weight, and durability.
• Working knowledge of U.S. Navy requirements and standards for craft design, and experience delivering to Navy or other government customers.
• Proven experience designing craft for performance and survivability in high sea states, including slamming loads and motion analysis.
• Understanding of signature management principles and how hull form, materials, and structure affect them.
• Proficiency with naval architecture and analysis tools (e.g., Rhino, Orca3D, Maxsurf, ANSYS, or Abaqus).
• Experience with ABS High Speed Craft or High Speed Naval Craft rules, ISO 12215, or DNV high-speed craft rules.
• CFD experience for hydrodynamics and seakeeping (e.g., STAR-CCM+, OpenFOAM).
• Hands-on experience working with composite boatbuilders and supporting sea trials.
• Willingness to travel up to 50% of the time when needed.
• This role requires access to ITAR/EAR-controlled data; U.S. person status is required as defined by 22 CFR 120.62.

Nice to have

• M.S. in Naval Architecture or Ocean Engineering, or a Professional Engineer (PE) license.
• Familiarity with NAVSEA design practices and Navy craft or unmanned surface vessel programs.
• Experience with signature reduction materials and treatments, such as radar-absorbing composites.
• Background in uncrewed or autonomous vessel design.
• Eligibility to obtain a U.S. Secret or higher security clearance; an active clearance is not required.
• Experience with advanced composite processes such as resin infusion, prepreg, and vacuum bagging.

Benefits

• Meaningful early-stage equity.
• Great health, dental, and vision insurance.
• Unlimited vacation.