Forward Deployed Engineer (gn) @ DefenceTech Venture, Mechelen (Belgium)

About MAHI

MAHI is building the operating system for autonomous vessels.

We turn years of ocean crossings into real world autonomy for vessels of every size. Our marine grade edge systems combine situational awareness, remote supervision and safety critical control to operate reliably in harsh, low connectivity environments.

Founded in 2022 in Mechelen, MAHI grew out of Project Mahi, the team behind Mahi-2, the first autonomous solar vessel to cross the Atlantic. Today, our systems run on new builds and retrofits from 6 to 60 meters, and we are just getting started.

Your role: You are the bridge between product and reality.

As a Forward Deployed Engineer, you take MAHI from platform to performance on real vessels. You work on-site across Europe as part of a small commissioning team, owning the software layer end to end. You integrate our system into complex, imperfect environments: vessels with legacy hardware, noisy sensors and operational constraints. You write the code that makes it all work together. You don’t just deploy, you shape the product in the field. Side by side with captains and operators, you test on the water, debug live systems and build what is missing in real time. Back in Mechelen, you stay responsible for what you shipped. You monitor systems, resolve issues and turn field learnings into product improvements. This is not a support role. It is where the product becomes real.

Why this role is for you

• You want to build things that actually work: Not demos, not simulations, but systems that operate in the real world under pressure

• You thrive in complexity: You enjoy messy environments, incomplete data and making systems work anyway

• You move fast with ownership: You don’t wait for perfect specs, you take responsibility and figure things out

• You care about impact: Your code directly affects how a vessel behaves on the water

What you will do

• Deploy and integrate MAHI’s platform on vessels across Europe

• Work directly with captains, operators and shipyards to understand real workflows

• Build and adapt features during live field tests

• Write production code in C/C++, Rust or Go to integrate sensors, hardware and external systems

• Set up and operate microservice based systems on Linux in edge environments

• Ensure robust remote connectivity and system reliability

• Own deployed systems end to end, from monitoring to escalation handling

• Capture and translate field insights into product improvements

Your profile

• Strong software engineering background with exposure to embedded systems, robotics or edge computing

• Fluent in at least one of C/C++, Rust or Go

• Deep familiarity with Linux systems

• Solid understanding of networking and distributed systems

• Comfortable building and debugging in real world environments

• Strong communicator across technical and non technical stakeholders

• Highly autonomous and able to manage multiple deployments

• Comfortable making decisions with incomplete information

• Fluent in English; Dutch is a plus

• Willing to travel across Europe (30 to 50 percent)

Bonus points

• Experience in maritime, offshore, defence or other safety critical systems

• Familiarity with marine communication protocols (NMEA0183/2000, etc.)

• Experience in early stage or scaling environments

What we offer

• A front row seat in building a new category in maritime autonomy

• Work that directly shapes how vessels operate in the real world

• A small, high ownership team with fast decision making

• Competitive salary and benefits

• The opportunity to grow with the company as we scale