Front End Software Engineer

UX Designer

About Oceanus

Oceanus Maritime Technologies is building the operating platform for the modern maritime world.

Global trade runs on ships, and we’re redefining what’s possible at sea by leveraging modern technology.

We’re a small, hands-on team based in El Segundo building full-stack systems that perform in real operating conditions across vessels, ports, and fleets. We focus on practical, deployable technology that brings safety oversight, automation, and coordination to complex maritime environments.

Our founding team previously built and operated SpaceX’s Autonomous Spaceport Droneships, which are among the most advanced autonomous maritime systems ever deployed. Today, we work with leading U.S. operators to bring that same rigor and systems thinking to the next generation of maritime infrastructure.

About the Role

As a UX Designer at Oceanus, you will define how operators, crews, and customers experience our platform — from the command interfaces that direct vessels at sea, to the onboard displays mounted in the wheelhouse, to the web and mobile tools our customers rely on ashore. You will own the end-to-end design of these surfaces: research, interaction design, visual design, prototyping, and the design system that ties them together.

This is a hands-on, full-spectrum design role at the intersection of maritime operations, autonomy, and hardware. Expect to spend time at our El Segundo office sketching workflows alongside engineers and former mariners; aboard vessels watching real operators work the systems you’ve designed; and back at your desk turning those observations into refined, production-ready interfaces. Your work will be judged not by how it looks in Figma, but by how it performs at 3 a.m. in a pitching seaway.

We are open to a range of experience levels — from a strong mid-level designer ready to take meaningful ownership of a product surface, to a senior or staff-level designer who can set direction across the platform. The bar in either case is the same: thoughtful work, demonstrated judgment in complex domains, and a portfolio that shows it.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end user experience of Oceanus products across operator command interfaces, onboard vessel displays, web/enterprise dashboards, and mobile applications
• Translate complex maritime operations, autonomy, and sensor data into interfaces that are usable under real-world offshore maritime operating conditions
• Design and prototype interaction flows, wireframes, and high-fidelity mockups
• Build and steward the Oceanus design system across web, mobile, and onboard displays so every successive product feels coherent and trustworthy
• Define interaction patterns for safety-critical workflows where attention, alerting, and error recovery matter as much as aesthetics
• Partner with software, hardware, and systems engineers to make sure the experience holds together end-to-end
• Set the design bar at Oceanus. Establish the standards, rituals, and review practices that scale design quality as the team and product surface grow

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Human Factors, a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience
• 4+ years of professional UX/product design experience shipping complex software products to production; we are open to mid-level through staff-level candidates and will calibrate scope and compensation accordingly
• A strong portfolio demonstrating end-to-end ownership, problem framing, research, interaction design, visual design, and shipped outcomes
• Expert proficiency in digital design tools (e.g. Figma) and modern prototyping tools; fluent in component libraries, design tokens, and the practical realities of maintaining a design system in production
• Demonstrated ability to translate technical and domain-specific complexity into clear, learnable user experiences
• Experience conducting user research and synthesizing it into product decisions, including interviews, contextual inquiry, and usability testing
• Strong written and visual communication skills, with the ability to articulate design rationale to engineers, executives, and end users
• Willingness to travel to vessels, shipyards, and operator sites (~15–25% expected, with periods of more during major deployments); must be a U.S. Person as defined by ITAR (U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or protected individual under 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3))

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Direct experience designing for operator-facing or mission-critical systems such as maritime, aerospace, defense, autonomy, energy, robotics, industrial control, or transportation
• Experience designing human-machine interfaces (HMI) for vehicles or vessels, including onboard displays, control panels, or embedded UI
• Familiarity with human factors principles relevant to high-workload environments: situational awareness, alerting hierarchies, workload management, and error tolerance
• Experience building and scaling design systems across multiple form factors (desktop, embedded display, mobile) and ruggedized or non-standard hardware
• Comfort with data-dense interfaces such as charts, maps, real-time telemetry, fleet views, sensor and video feeds
• Experience working alongside engineers in version control (Git, GitHub) and shipping into modern web stacks (React/TypeScript)
• Prior experience as a design hire at an early-stage company; comfort setting up the craft, standards, and processes that the next ten designers will inherit
• Time spent on or around vessels, in industrial operations, or otherwise in environments where the cost of a confusing interface is measured in something more than a missed click

Work Environment

• On-site with the team at our office in El Segundo, CA
• Occasional travel to vessels, test sites, shipyards, or operator locations as needed

Compensation and Benefits

We are open to a wide range of experience levels. The expected salary range for this role is $130,000 – $210,000. Final compensation will be determined based on experience, skills, and scope of the role. We offer a comprehensive benefits package that includes:

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Generous equity participation
• Flex paid time off and company holidays
• 401(k) traditional and Roth options
• Additional benefits that support your health, growth, and well-being

Why Oceanus, Why Now

Maritime operations are at the edge of a revolution. New connectivity and compute are finally unlocking remote monitoring, autonomy, and digitization.

Regulatory, economic, and geopolitical pressure is accelerating technology adoption, and U.S.-aligned infrastructure is more valuable than ever.

Oceanus is building on hard-won operational experience, including work on autonomous maritime systems supporting missions like SpaceX droneships, and have deep operator engagement with strong product-market alignment.

Design is foundational to that mission. The interfaces we build determine whether modern technology actually reaches the people running the world’s vessels — or stays trapped in a slide deck. You will help form the design core of a team transforming an industry that quite literally moves the world.