Bradbury will quickly expand this new program group by hiring project-focused personnel, marine and naval engineers, and construction management specialists.
“With the recent program awards of full autonomous vessel builds, it’s clear that we’ve successfully added prime contract management to our traditional business of technology development and autonomous product supply. Courtney uniquely brings the right combination of technical skills, construction management, dogged offshore experience, and marine wherewithal to create and lead this new group. And I trust that he’ll deliver success,” said Michael G. Johnson, Founder and CEO of Sea Machines Robotics.
The role responds to a shift in demand, from the nascent innovation market for autonomy to the growing adoption of the technology spurring budgeted fleet programs. Defense acquisition is moving the same way. In September 2026, Sea Machines was one of six companies to successfully complete the most challenging marine autonomy test demonstration to date for the US Navy, thereby advancing the company into the Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel (MUVP) marketplace, an initiative the Navy has described as a strategic shift in naval acquisition designed to rapidly field unmanned technologies by leveraging mature, existing commercial solutions. That maturity is what drew Bradbury to the company.
“Michael’s vision for marine autonomy and the creation of Sea Machines more than a decade ago has given the company time to get over the learning curve,” Bradbury said. “Gaining experience integrating across a broad range of engine manufacturers and navigation systems has allowed the system to be robust against the largest set of equipment in the marine industry, rather than being built for one type of vessel or one use case.”
“Sea Machines is rapidly evolving from an autonomous system supplier to an autonomous vessel supplier. The newly created department will bring additional capabilities that allow large-scale vessel building programs to be effectively executed through advanced shipbuilding techniques, supply chain management, and robust programmatic-level management,” Bradbury added.
Bradbury is a registered Professional Engineer in Washington State and holds an Unlimited Tonnage Mate’s License and a degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from the State University of New York Maritime College. Based in Seattle, Bradbury began his career at sea before moving into vessel design and later managing offshore engineering programs. Prior to joining Sea Machines, Bradbury was the Director of Development at Foss Maritime, leading pioneering marine solutions.
