Maritime Engineer - Fleet Maintenance & Refit

SailFuture | St. Petersburg, FL

Five vessels, two full refits, one engineer. This is your fleet.

SailFuture is a nonprofit that uses sailing, education, and workforce programs to change the lives of young people. Our fleet carries students on expeditions, trains crew, and runs the organization’s operations. We need one person who keeps it all ready for sea.

This isn’t a role where you spot a problem and pass it to a contractor. You open the machinery space, test the system, find what failed, source the parts, and fix it or direct the right specialist. Then you plan the refits and shipyard periods that keep the fleet running for years.

The job at a glance

• Salary

  • $65,000 base + annual Impact Compensation

• Reports to

  • Fleet Manager & CEO

• Location

  • St. Petersburg, FL, with travel to vessels and shipyards

• Start date

  • February 1, 2027

• Travel

  • Regular domestic and international travel

• Benefits

  • 15 days PTO, 11 paid holidays, 401(k) with 6% match, $250 health insurance contribution

The fleet

• 105' Feadship: repairs needed for operational readiness

• 100' KetchWhatever It Takes: operational

• 65' MacGregor SloopDefy the Odds: full refit needed

• 54' Hatteras Flybridge: repairs needed for operational readiness

• 24' SafeBoat: full refit needed

What you’ll do

Keep the fleet reliable

• Build and run a preventative maintenance program for every vessel

• Diagnose and repair engines, generators, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, hydraulics, and refrigeration

• Do the work yourself or decide when a specialist is needed

• Keep logs, service histories, manuals, and spare parts inventories current

• Make sure critical spares are aboard before any offshore voyage

• Set daily through annual maintenance routines with captains and crew

Run refits and shipyard periods

• Assess vessel condition and build prioritized scopes of work

• Prepare budgets, schedules, equipment specs, and bid packages

• Evaluate shipyard and contractor proposals, then keep projects on time and on budget

• Inspect the work, run commissioning and sea trials, and update the documentation

Manage vendors and parts

• Build a bench of trusted shipyards, contractors, and suppliers

• Negotiate pricing, define scopes, and check invoices against completed work

• Source parts domestically and internationally, including obsolete equipment

• Make the repair vs. replace call

Keep vessels safe and compliant

• Help captains close out findings from inspections, surveys, and audits

• Support flag-state, classification, insurance, and safety requirements

• Plan for machinery failures and emergency response

Systems you’ll own
Diesel propulsion and generators, running gear, 12/24V DC and 120/230V AC, battery banks, inverters, shore power, solar, watermakers, sanitation, refrigeration, chilled-water AC, hydraulics, thrusters, and steering. On the sailboats: rigging, winches, windlasses, and sail-handling gear, working alongside riggers and sailmakers.

What you bring

• Substantial professional experience maintaining, repairing, or operating complex recreational, commercial, or large-yacht vessels

• Hands-on experience with several of these: marine diesel, generators, DC and AC electrical, inverters and battery systems, plumbing, HVAC and refrigeration, hydraulics, watermakers, marine electronics, fiberglass, and carpentry

• You read wiring diagrams, schematics, and mechanical drawings, and can research unfamiliar equipment on your own

• You can run a project and hold shipyards and contractors accountable

• Organized records and documentation

• Willing to work in engine rooms, travel internationally, and work aboard when needed

• Valid driver’s license and passport

Nice to have

• USCG credential or STCW

• Yacht refit management

• International vessel operations

• Experience on vessels 50 to 120 feet, including sailing vessels

• Experience with older vessels carrying several generations of equipment

Why this role

You’ll know it’s working when preventative maintenance replaces emergency repairs, captains trust their boats, and every vessel leaves the dock with the spares it needs. Reliable vessels are how our students get to sea. You keep them ready.