Lead Naval Architect

Lead Naval Architect

Company Overview:

Gulf Copper LLC, a subsidiary of Davie Defense, is a leading Marine Repair and New Construction company based in Galveston, Texas, with more than 75 years of ship repair and fabrication experience on the Gulf Coast. Gulf Copper’s primary business is the repair and refurbishment of marine vessels, ship construction, and fabrication for transportation, government, and oil and gas markets.

Benefits:

• 401k Retirement Plan
• Section 125 Plan (Pre-Tax Health/Dental Insurance Premium Deduction)
• Group Health & Dental Plan
• Short & Long Term Disability Insurance
• Life & Voluntary Life Insurance
• Holiday & Vacation Pay
• Employee Assistance Program

Position Overview and Purpose

The Lead Naval Architect for the Arctic Security Cutter program is responsible for providing technical direction, oversight, and leadership for all naval architecture activities supporting the design, development, production, test and life cycle planning of Arctic-capable vessels. This role ensures the hull form, structural design, stability, hydrodynamics, and overall vessel performance meet program requirements, regulations, and operational needs in extreme Arctic environments.

The Lead Naval Architect will manage design integration with other engineering disciplines, production teams, and external partners while guiding a growing technical team to meet schedule, quality, and compliance expectations.

1. Lead all naval architecture efforts for the Arctic Security Cutter program, including hull design, hydrostatics, hydrodynamics, structural analysis, and vessel performance.
2. Oversee the development, review, and approval of technical calculations, drawings, and design documentation.
3. Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements (Class, Flag State, USCG, SOLAS, IMO Polar Code, and applicable miliary standards).
4. Provide technical expertise for ice-class design considerations, cold-weather operability, and Arctic mission capability.
5. Collaborate with marine, mechanical, electrical, and systems engineers’ teams to ensure design compatibility across all disciplines.
6. Support the development of general arrangements, weight estimates, load calculations, and stability documentation.
7. Lead design reviews, technical evaluations, risk assessments, and configuration changes throughout the project lifecycle.
8. Support model testing, simulations, and analytical validation of vessel performance.
9. Act as primary naval architecture contact for internal leadership, shipyard teams, customers, and government stakeholders.
10. Assist with schedule planning, resource forecasting, and prioritization of design deliverables.
11. Troubleshoot design challenges affecting cost, schedule, or engineering execution and developing effective solutions.
12. Participate in production support activities, including addressing design inquiries and verifying as-built conditions.
13. Provide mentorship, coaching, and daily guidance to junior naval architects and designers.
14. Promote best practices in design methodology, documentation, modeling, and analysis.
15. Support talent development, process improvements, and knowledge sharing within the engineering team.

Required Education & Experience:

1. Bachelor’s degree in Naval Architecture, Marine Engineering, or a related field.
2. Seven (7+) years of experience in naval architecture within ship design, shipbuilding, defenses programs, or related maritime projects.
3. Professional Engineer license or eligibility.
4. Strong knowledge of stability structures, hydrodynamics, hull design, and classification/regulatory standards.
5. Familiarity with Polar Code, Arctic operations, or military/Coast Guard cutter programs.
6. Familiarity with modeling tools (GHS, Rhino, NASTRAN, ShipConstructor, FEMAP, etc.).
7. Experience working with classification societies or government agencies (ABS, USCG, NAVSEA, etc.)
8. Ability to lead technical efforts and manage multiple design tasks in fast-paced program environment.
9. Strong communication, documentation, and problem-solving skills.

Working Conditions:

1. Office and shipyard environments. 
2. Occasional travel for program reviews or supplier coordination may be required. 

Necessary Equipment Operation:

1. MS Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, Power Point, etc.).  
2. Ability to use Customer Supplied programs or websites.  
3. Office equipment, including telephone, scanner, computer, printer, etc.   

Special Skills:

1. Technical leadership
2. Attention to detail and accuracy
3. Cross-disciplinary collaboration
4. Innovation in cold-weather and heavy-icy design
5. Strong decision-making skills.
6. Ownership and accountability.

* An Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability. Equal Employment Opportunity Posters. If you’d like to view a copy of the company’s affirmative action plan or policy statement, please email: [email protected].  If you have a disability and you believe you need a reasonable accommodation in order to search for a job opening or to submit an online application, please e-mail: [email protected].