NAPA Design Solutions offers a comprehensive solution for 3D ship modeling and design tools covering hull form design and hydrodynamics, hydrostatics and stability, structural design, and information sharing across the shipbuilding process. These are among the most powerful tools in the industry, trusted by the world's largest shipyards and classification societies.

Now we're accelerating the next phase: deepening the role of artificial intelligence in ship design. The question we're now tackling: how can AI make these tools and the workflows around them significantly smarter? That's where you come in. We're looking for a Senior AI Research Engineer to drive this effort, someone who can take an idea from research all the way to a feature that naval architects use daily.

You'll strengthen and expand our AI capability in NAPA Design Solutions, working alongside an established R&D team that already combines domain expertise with AI and data science skills. You'll work closely with naval architects, hydrodynamics experts, and software developers who deeply understand the domain, and your job is to deepen the team's AI expertise and accelerate the path from research to product. You'll also represent NAPA in AI‑related working groups.

This position is based in Helsinki (Ruoholahti), Finland. We prefer a candidate who can work in hybrid mode and visit our office regularly. The role involves occasional international traveling. If you have specific needs regarding work arrangements or accessibility, we're happy to discuss how we can accommodate them.

What you'll actually do

Build AI into real products. Design, develop, and deploy production-grade AI features for NAPA's ship design software. Examples: design assistants, decision-support tools, optimization workflows, anomaly detection, intelligent defaults, and report generation. You own the full cycle from research to production.

Be the go‑to person for AI topics in NAPA Design Solutions. Advise product managers and tech leads on feasibility, trade‑offs, and risks. Share best practices (e.g. data handling, evaluation, model lifecycle).

Shape the AI roadmap. You'll help define what AI in ship design should look like at NAPA. Which problems are worth solving with machine learning? Where does a classical algorithm still win? What data infrastructure do we need? You'll advise product managers and tech leads, and help the wider organization strengthen its AI capabilities.

Collaborate across disciplines. Your daily partners are naval architects, structural engineers, hydrodynamics specialists, and software developers.

Coordinate with external partners. You'll work with university and research partners, support proposal writing and reporting, and represent NAPA in AI-related working groups when needed.

What are we looking for?

We need someone who combines deep AI knowledge with the ability to ship working software.

Specifically:

• Master's or PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Data Science, or a relevant engineering field

• Strong AI and machine learning expertise

  • Familiarity with current developments in LLMs, ML and AI models

  • How models work, when they fail, and how to design the right approach for a given problem

• Previous R&D experience in the software development field

• Proven track record of building AI applications that went from idea to deployed product

• Collaboration skills: you can explain complex AI concepts to domain experts, listen to their needs, and co-create solutions.

You also need strong communication in English, written and spoken, for working in our global teams.

What gives you an edge

These aren't requirements, but they'll help you contribute from day one:

• Experience in participation in successful projects

  • Planning, prioritization, risk management, and clear communication with stakeholders.

• Experience with simulation tools, optimization, or physics‑informed machine learning

• Knowledge of naval architecture, marine engineering, or ship design (or strong motivation and ability to learn the domain quickly)

• Experience working with large-scale engineering datasets

Why this role is different

Your work has tangible, physical impact. The AI features you build will help design ships that are safer for crews and passengers, more fuel-efficient, and compliant with increasingly complex environmental regulations. This is engineering that shapes the ships carrying the world's cargo and passengers.

You get both research and product. International research projects give you access to academic collaboration, publication opportunities, and genuinely hard problems. But you also ship code into products used by the world's largest shipyards. Few roles offer both.

You'll have real ownership. You'll work in a focused R&D team where your ideas directly shape products and research direction. The decisions you make will be visible in what we ship to customers.

The data is unlike anything else. Decades of proprietary ship design data, hull form geometries, hydrostatic calculations, and regulatory knowledge: a genuinely unique machine learning asset that opens research and product possibilities few other companies can offer.

Ready to get on board and join the NAPA crew?

We kindly ask you to send your application and CV to us by 3 May 2026. The position will be filled as soon as a suitable candidate has been found.

For more information about the position, please contact Antti Kujala (Development Director) by e-mail: antti.kujala@napa.fi

NAPA as an employer

Meaningful work

We are proud to play our part in creating a sustainable world, and a career at NAPA means working with a purpose. We focus on building the best possible products for our customers, with whom we have close and long-lasting relationships. We protect the environment and human life at sea by powering safer and greener vessels with our technology.

NAPA way of working

At NAPA, you're self-managed. The core of our self-management philosophy is trust. We trust our employees to make the right decisions and take care of their personal growth. We provide several opportunities for that, and everyone can manage their own working time. You can work at the office, from home or even while abroad.

Enjoy working together

...is one of our core values. Learning from and respecting each other provides a healthy and pleasant working environment. We, as NAPArians, share our knowledge and help each other when needed. NAPA has offices and customers around the world, and you will be able to meet people from many diverse cultures. We are a diverse family with a shared goal.

Read more about our values and culture: https://www.napa.fi/careers/ and see why work at NAPA is meaningful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryaK2AP_3KA

About NAPA

With over 35 years of operation, NAPA is a leading maritime software and data services provider for ship design and operations to enable safe, sustainable, and future-proof maritime industry. Headquartered in Finland, NAPA employs 230 people in the fields of naval architecture, shipping and information technology, operating globally in eleven countries in Europe, Asia and the Americas.

NAPA software is used by shipyards, ship owners, designers, classification societies, research institutes, authorities and consultancies around the world. To date, NAPA has 420 user organizations for its design solutions, nearly 3,000 installations onboard vessels and a growing number of subscribers for its cloud-based fleet services.