Applications Engineer

About this role

What we’re building

The marine industry supports recreation, global commerce, and national defense. And yet it runs on technology that hasn't meaningfully changed in fifty years. Until now.

Arc is on a mission to electrify the marine industry. We're rethinking powertrains, software, and vessel designs from first principles. And we're already executing. We started with consumers to develop and harden our core technology. We’re now scaling production of our flagship model with new models and sectors on the horizon. Now we’re extending our platform to commercial applications, starting with tugs, ferries, and defense, with years worth of signed contracts and a pipeline that spans every vessel type on the water.

The technology is proven, the momentum is building, and the opportunity is enormous. The marine industry is going electric and Arc is building the platform that powers it

Who we’re looking for

As Arc’s Applications Engineer you will own the development of early stage technical architectures, costing, and proposals for new commercial projects.

We're looking for someone fired up by the mission and ready to build. You'll thrive here if you move fast, take ownership, and care about the details. Your ultimate goal is to understand our product and market so deeply, and build such powerful internal estimation and sizing tools, that you effectively automate yourself out of the day-to-day work, paving the way for your next stage of growth here.

This is a full-time, on-site role at our Los Angeles headquarters.

What You'll Do

• Partnering with our business development group as the first technical touchpoint, developing concept solutions and architectures for new marine projects.

• Driving the development of internal sizing and estimation tools. You will collaborate with design engineers to build robust calculators for electrical loads, thermal limits, and pricing—with the explicit goal of streamlining our application engineering engine.

• Sizing and specifying complex marine electrical equipment, including 1000V DC busses, multi-MWh energy storage systems, switchgear, and electric propulsion motors.

• Generating high-level CAD layouts to validate space claims for major equipment (e.g., demonstrating switchgear cabinet lineups within a vessel's hull).

• Estimating costs and material take-offs (BOMs), taking full ownership of the final pricing roll-up and project margins.

• Collaborating closely and empathetically with core engineering, supply chain, and our technical writing team to translate your architectures into clear, compliant, and persuasive bid packages.

• Evaluating customer requirements, ship specifications, and general arrangements to develop optimized technical proposals that align with our mission.

• Presenting technical architectures to clients, shipyards, and naval architects, answering technical questions during the bidding phase with transparency and expertise.

Minimum Qualifications

• 2+ years of experience in the marine industry as an application engineer, proposal engineer, design engineer, or similar role.

• Strong understanding of marine electrical architectures, including diesel-electric systems, fully electric propulsion, and high-voltage DC power distribution.

• Functional knowledge of energy storage systems (ESS), switchgear, power electronics, and power management systems.

• Ability to read, interpret, and create electrical single-line diagrams, system block diagrams, and complex spreadsheets.

• Basic proficiency with CAD software (such as NX or SolidWorks) for conceptual layouts and footprint planning.

• Strong commercial mindset with the ability to confidently own pricing models and margin outcomes.

• Clear verbal communication and the ability to collaborate effectively in an inclusive, cross-functional environment.

• Strong time management skills with the ability to juggle multiple project deadlines simultaneously.

• Comfortable pushing at a fast but sustainable pace, respecting both the work and your own well-being.

• Comfortable spending occasional time on boats in the field or at shipyards for vessel walks and client meetings.

• We value engineers who take full ownership, apply first-principles thinking, prioritize technical problems effectively for the most business value, and actively contribute to a positive, inclusive team culture.

• Must be a US Person

Bonus Qualifications

• Firsthand experience working on commercial vessels (tugs, ferries) or defense vessels, particularly those with electric propulsion.

• Deep experience with high-voltage battery systems and their associated safety requirements.

• Familiarity with marine classification society rules and regulatory standards (e.g., ABS, DNV, USCG, IEEE 45).

• Experience conceptualizing or guiding the creation of computational tools (e.g., in Excel, Matlab, or Python) for system sizing.

• Familiarity with fluid/thermal cooling systems, sufficient to understand and utilize internal thermal sizing calculators for power electronics.

• Enthusiasm for boating and the water.

At Arc, we encourage diversity and consider all qualified applicants equally for employment, regardless of background, identity, or status. You’re always welcome to reach out even if you don’t meet many of these qualifications. Passion and aptitude make up for a lot.

What we offer

The base salary for this role is $140,000* annually.

* This salary range reflects a California-based position and may be adjusted based on the candidate's geographic location

Highly competitive equity grants are included with full time offers. As well as semi-annual bonuses tied to your impact, not just your tenure.

Additionally, Arc offers top-tier benefits for full-time employees, including:

• Healthcare benefits — 99% employer-paid medical, dental, and vision

• Parental leave — 14 weeks fully paid for birthing and non-birthing parents

• Generous time off — Highly competitive PTO with an opportunity to earn more time with

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