Experience in developing acoustic sensing systems or algorithms
Strong understanding of marine acoustic propagation and signal processing
Field deployment experience with real-world acoustic datasets
Familiarity with statistical signal processing or machine learning methods
Excellent communication and cross-functional teamwork skills
Ph.D. or equivalent experience in related fields
Strong reputation and leadership experience in the ocean acoustics community
Responsibilities
Lead acoustics research and development strategy for underwater platform
Develop detection, classification, and localization capabilities for underwater objects
Create acoustic maps, characterizing soundscapes and propagation conditions
Guide sensing system design, deployment strategy, and data performance validation
Collaborate with teams to transition acoustic research into operational products
Coordinate field experiments and data analysis to test system performance
Define product requirements and research priorities for underwater acoustics
Represent Sofar in external partnerships and community engagement
Benefits
Opportunity to define the scientific vision for underwater acoustic technologies
Collaborative work with leading ocean scientists and engineers
Involvement in real-world applications impacting marine environments
Access to field experiments and practical deployment experiences
Possibility to influence product development with cutting-edge technology
Full Job Description
The Role:
Sofar designs, builds, and deploys ocean sensing networks at a global scale that provide unique observational knowledge of the ocean environment. We are expanding our sensing capabilities into underwater acoustics to detect, classify, and locate underwater objects, and to create an acoustic map of the marine environment. We are looking for a world expert in ocean acoustics to set the research and development vision for Sofar's underwater acoustics platform.
Responsibilities:
Lead Sofar's acoustics research and development strategy, defining the scientific vision for an underwater acoustics platform that supports real-world marine applications
Develop capabilities to detect, classify, and localize underwater objects using passive and/or active acoustic sensing methods
Advance methods for creating acoustic maps of the marine environment, including characterization of ambient soundscapes, propagation conditions, and relevant oceanographic context
Provide an acoustics-centric perspective on sensing system design, deployment strategy, data quality, and performance validation
Collaborate with Sofar's oceanic and sensing scientists, software engineers, and firmware teams to translate acoustic research into operational products
Coordinate and conduct field experiments, data analyses, and simulation studies to evaluate acoustic system performance in real-world ocean conditions
Bring deep expertise in marine acoustics to complement Sofar's ocean science, sensing, and forecasting teams
Help define product requirements, technical roadmaps, and research priorities for new underwater acoustic capabilities
Represent Sofar externally with customers, research partners, government agencies, and the broader ocean acoustics community.
Minimum Job Qualifications:
Deep expertise in underwater acoustics
Experience developing acoustic sensing systems or algorithms for detection, classification, localization, mapping, or environmental characterization
Strong understanding of marine acoustic propagation, ambient noise, signal processing, and the practical constraints of ocean sensing
Experience working with real-world acoustic datasets, field deployments, and/or operational sensing systems
Experience applying statistical signal processing, machine learning, or modern AI methods to acoustic detection, classification, or environmental inference.
Excellent communication skills, and you excel working in a cross-functional team
Experience translating scientific research into operational products or customer-facing capabilities
Ph.D. in acoustics, ocean engineering, electrical engineering, applied physics, oceanography, or a related field, but we will consider highly qualified candidates of any education level with equivalent experience
Strong reputation within the ocean acoustics community, with experience leading externally funded research programs or strategic technical partnerships.
Enthusiasm and experience in leveraging LLMs to magnify personal impact
Bonus Points:
Familiarity with embedded sensing systems, firmware constraints, or edge processing for acoustic applications
Familiarity with the constraints of autonomous ocean platforms, including limited power, bandwidth, onboard compute, sensor calibration, and long-duration deployments.
Comfort working in production codebases when necessary to personally deliver changes
Estimated Salary Range
$137,000 - $185,000
The range listed is what we reasonably expect to pay for this role at the time of this posting. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range and may be modified in the future. Actual compensation packages are based on several factors that are unique to each candidate, including but not limited to skill set, experience, and equity package.
