Manager/Snr Mgr/Asst Dir (Maritime Space and Drone Capability)(2-yr contract)

[What the role is]

MPA is seeking a candidate for the newly formed Maritime Space and Drone Capability (MSDC) department within the Operations Transformation & Planning Division (OTPD) under the Ops-Tech Cluster. The OTPD supports MPA’s mission by ensuring that policies, plans, and procedures are operationally ready to address crisis scenarios as well as ensure port security and maritime safety. OTPD is also entrusted with developing future operating concepts in the multi-domain (space, air, sea, sub-sea and cyber) areas of operations and translating them into operational requirements for the purpose of capability development in MPA.

Crisis scenarios include severe events caused by geopolitical risks, pandemics, natural disasters, and climate change effects, as well as major incidents such as piracies, vessel collisions and sinkings, oil/fuel/chemical spills etc. which could cause disruptions to the global supply chain and negatively impact port security and maritime safety.

To ensure that Maritime Singapore is well-prepared for crisis scenarios, there is a critical need to strengthen and future-proof our operational responses and safeguard Singapore’s national and maritime interests. The complexity of such crises necessitates capability development and collaboration across multiple domains in the assigned area of operations. Future operating concepts must leverage capabilities and sensors across multiple domains in order to ensure effective and timely response in a crisis.

[What you will be working on]

As a Manager/Snr Mgr/Asst Dir (Maritime Space and Drone Capability), you will develop and deploy computer vision and AI solutions to analyse drone footage for object detection, anomaly identification, and real-time or post-mission insights. Your work will also include creating custom drone applications using SDKs, managing a cloud-based platform for centralised data storage and processing, and building interactive dashboards for live monitoring and alerting. Collaborating closely with drone operators and analysts, you will help enhance operational effectiveness and support data-driven decision-making in complex environments.

Your key responsibilities are:

• Develop and implement AI models for object detection, classification, and anomaly detection using drone footage.

• Design video analytics workflows for real-time and post-processed drone data.Own end-to-end data and model pipeline from training, validation, deployment, and automated retraining.

• Fine-tune and retrain models based on new data and feedback from field operations.

• Design and develop drone applications to enhance and optimise current drone operations

• Design and develop a scalable cloud infrastructure to manage all drone-generated data (video, images, telemetry, sensor data),

• Integrate video analytics outputs into reporting dashboards and alert systems.

• Ensure scalability and performance of AI pipelines using cloud.

• Maintain awareness of emerging AI tools and techniques relevant to aerial video analytics.

[What we are looking for]

• Background in Computer Science, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Information Technology, Artificial Intelligence, or other related engineering and technical disciplines.

• Relevant working experience in AI/ML Engineering roles involving computer vision, drone-based analytics, video processing, or surveillance systems integration.

• Familiarity with unmanned aerial systems (UAS), drone operations, and aerial surveillance workflows.

• Past experience and knowledge of surveillance, inspection, or security operations will be an added advantage.

• Knowledge and experience with AI/ML models, video analytics, object detection, and anomaly detection will be an added advantage.

• Strong analytical, interpersonal, and communication skills.

• Good command of English and writing skills.

• Strong planning and organising abilities: Able to frame technical problems clearly and concisely, leading to the development of effective and scalable AI solutions.

• Good software development and system integration skills; able to lead or collaborate with multi-disciplinary teams and stakeholders to operationalise analytics systems.

• Able to leverage drone data and AI outputs to develop actionable insights and support decision-making in mission-critical environments.

• Familiarity with cloud-based platforms, edge AI deployment, and model optimisation techniques for performance and scalability.

• Successful candidates will be offered a 2-year contract in the first instance and may be considered for an extension or be placed on a permanent appointment.