Job Description
Software Engineer at a fast growing startup
Hybrid; Plymouth and WFH
No recruiters. Previous candidates need not apply
Overview
Founded in 2020, ACUA Ocean is a fast-growing and dynamic start-up sitting at the intersection of clean tech, ocean autonomy, and maritime security. Our scalable, intelligent USV platform addresses critical needs: climate and environmental monitoring, offshore infrastructure resilience, coastal protection, and marine surveillance with minimal human or environmental footprint. We are hiring a Software Engineer to work within our growing Engineering Team developing cutting edge technology to use in our uncrewed surface vessels (USVs).
A successful candidate must be a team player with a passion for sharing knowledge and be ready to be at the grassroots of this growing business supporting the growth of a robust and diverse team delivering results that will revolutionise the way we protect and monitor our oceans.
Who you are:
* You have 2+ years of experience as a Software Engineer, particularly in building, deploying, and maintaining software systems—ideally in fast-paced or startup environments.
* You're comfortable working cross-functionally, collaborating with operational, systems, and mechanical teams to bring complex systems to life.
* You thrive in autonomous, self-directed roles, taking initiative and ownership from problem definition to implementation.
* You’re data-driven and pragmatic, making thoughtful engineering trade-offs while never compromising on safety or mission-critical reliability.
* You bring a builder’s mindset, balancing speed with precision, and you’re always looking for new tools, methods, or approaches to improve your craft.
What you’ll do
● Build highly robust, configurable solutions for remote-operated and autonomous Uncrewed Surface Vessels (USVs).
● Develop new features and maintain the infrastructure that supports USV operations.
● Assume leadership of assigned projects from conceptualisation to deployment
● Develop user interfaces to interact with USVs - you will have a strong influence on how the operators control or monitor the vessel
● Integrate with back-end systems to support new features or upgrade existing ones.
● Contribute to design architecture reviews, workshops.
● Develop observability solutions enabling the vessel and remote operations centres.
What you’ll need
● UK citizenship. We will not sponsor visas.
● Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering or related engineering discipline with 2+ years of experience (Ideally in hardware projects or systems integration)
● Proficiency in HTML & CSS, C#, Python
● Proficiency in UI/UX, (Ideally in high volume / real-time data environments)
● Experience with Docker and Kubernetes (desirable)
● Knowledge of networking (e.g. MQTT, TCP/IP) (desirable)
● Experience with Linux (desirable)
● Experience with OT (e.g. PLC programming) (desirable)
● Experience in the maritime sector (desirable)
Benefits/Compensation:
● £35-60K salary (depending on experience)
● UK citizenship. We unfortunately cannot sponsor visas for this role.
● 24 days annual leave plus bank holidays plus Christmas closure ️
● Comprehensive benefits package from Vitality - access to full health insurance including dental coverage
● Awesome perks such as discounted gym memberships, mental health cover and global health coverage ️️
● Life insurance to 4x your annual salary
● Payment of professional fees
● Company laptop