Senior Software Engineer (Control… at SubSea Craft · Portsmouth

Senior Software Engineer (Control Systems)

Location: Portsmouth, Hampshire

Job Description

• Salary: £60,000 - £80,000 DOE
• Full Time
  
• Permanent
  

Who we are: SubSea Craft is a fast growing, privately-funded, UK-based innovative maritime technology company specialising in next-generation, high-performance watercraft and systems. We operate at the intersection of advanced engineering, cutting-edge design, and user-centric innovation, delivering safe, effective, and enabling solutions for both commercial and defence applications.

Role Overview

We are hiring a senior software engineer to design and deliver the control software for our intelligent vehicles. You will own the architecture of closed loop control and vehicle systems management, and take it from scoping through to sea trials. You will also act as technical authority for our mobile platforms and mentor less experienced engineers.

What we offer:

• Annual Leave – Entitlement to 25 days of annual leave plus bank holidays
• Wellbeing Day - An additional Wellbeing Day each year to focus on personal health and wellbeing.
• Private Healthcare – Access to comprehensive private healthcare coverage to support your physical and mental wellbeing.
• Life Assurance and Critical Illness Cover – Comprehensive protection including Life Assurance (4x salary) and Critical Illness Cover for added financial security.
• Family Leave – Enhanced maternity and paternity pay
• Christmas Leave – A Christmas shutdown is typically observed.
• Professional Development – Commitment to ongoing learning and career growth, supported by training programmes and access to LinkedIn Learning.
• Pension Contribution – pension scheme with the option to contribute via salary sacrifice
• Flexible Working – Opportunities for flexible working arrangements to promote work–life balance.
• Inclusive Culture – A professional environment that values diversity, innovation, and collaboration.

Responsibilities will include:

• Design and develop software architecture in line with system requirements, focusing on closed loop control and vehicle systems management.
• Implement closed loop control features, including propulsion management, electrical systems, control allocation and autopilot.
• Write and maintain software documentation, including design records.
• Mentor and guide less experienced engineers.
  
• Work with the wider software and engineering teams to deliver software and documentation on time.
• Review peers' designs so that they stay reliable, modular and maintainable.
• Test and validate your software through unit tests, simulation, bench testing and sea trials.
• Act as technical authority for the software on our mobile platforms, from scoping and architecture through to delivery.

Qualifications and Experience:

Required:

• Degree-level qualification in Computer Science, Mechatronics, Robotics, or similar, or equivalent industry experience.
• Professional experience in design and development of software for control systems.
• Advanced software development experience in modern C++ (14 or newer).
  

Desirable skills and experience (any would be an advantage):

• Advanced knowledge of closed loop control, including PID tuning on physical systems.
• Experience with marine or mobile robotics.
• Experience with embedded or real-time systems.
• Experience with ROS or ROS 2.
• Experience with CAN bus.
• Understanding of sensor fusion, path planning or state estimation.
• Familiarity with autonomous systems and robotics software stacks.

Note: Due to the nature of work undertaken at SubSea Craft, the selected candidate must be capable of meeting the security requirements of the position, which would include as a minimum existing right to live and work in the UK, Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), with UK National security clearance required for certain roles.*

Values: Our people are our greatest asset, we continually strive to provide an excellent working environment to enable our team to do their best work. We have an agile professional workforce: we are founded on the belief that our people are valued and our business is trusted, inclusive and commercially-adept.

What we expect from you:

• Teamwork, mutual respect and collaboration
• Initiative and independent working
• Honesty and integrity
• Business and commercial awareness
• Agility, adaptability and continuous development

We are committed to building an inclusive, diverse workplace where everyone can thrive. If you require any support or adjustments to interact with us, please let us know.

*Please note that all offers of employment are conditional and subject to satisfactory DBS, driving license and reference checks. A criminal record will not automatically disqualify candidates from employment. We will consider criminal record information alongside the wider range of evidence gathered at the application, interview, and pre-employment checking stages.

Due to the high volume of applications, we are unable to respond to everyone. If you are shortlisted, we will aim to contact you within 14 days of your application or the closing date (if stated). We may retain your details for future suitable roles unless you advise us otherwise.

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