Democratizing aquatic data through simple, safe, easy-to-use drone technology that delivers a superior customer experience while keeping operators out of harm’s way.
Jaia Robotics
Democratize Aquatic Data Collection
Providing the ultimate customer experience, with simplicity at the core of everything we do by creating safe, easy-to-use aquatic drones and data solutions that keep operators out of harm’s way.
Treating others how they would like to be treated. Believing there is best intent in every action. Disagreeing but don’t being disagreeable. Leaving the planet a better place than you found it.
Being honest and fair in all we do. Being accountable and holding others to account. See something unethical, say something. Knowing when to ask for help.
Being customer experience led. Fostering collaboration. Delivering what you said you would. Communicating often and accurately. Delivering affordable value add products and services.
Embracing failure and learning from it. Recognizing no idea is a bad idea. Welcoming the experiences and value people bring from different walks of life, cultures, and genders.
Creating intuitive, easy to use products and services. Making life at work as simple as possible for our team and partners.
As a Jaia Robotics co-founder Ian brings a unique mix of business leadership, program management, engineering, operations and capture skills. Ian has worked in the defense, technology, and commercial sectors, with a strong emphasis on Blue Tech. Jaia Robotics was born out of a passion for protecting our environment and finding ways to affordably collect the data that helps us better understand our impact on it.
The work Ian did at Aquabotix provided invaluable insight into the potential of using micro sized autonomous marine vehicles to collect data at a very low cost. This experience – understanding customer needs and market knowledge – underpins the decision to co-found Jaia Robotics and develop the JaiaBot synoptic data collection system.
Ian spent four years at Sonos Inc., partnering with industry behemoths including IKEA, Amazon, and Apple to successfully develop amazing products and launch them into market – always with a laser focus on customer experience. Prior to Sonos, Ian led the Program Management Team at Bluefin Robotics, successfully developing large and medium size autonomous underwater vehicles for customers around the globe. Big business experience was gained at Raytheon where Ian led the Naval Business for the UK operation before transferring to the US, where he worked with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on the NSF funded Ocean Observatory Initiative, as well as doing a rotation as a faculty member in the Raytheon Program Management College providing international business insight.
Ian grew up in a coastal town in southern Wales, UK, where he developed that strong connection with the ocean that led to the first twelve years of his professional life in the UK Royal Navy. Out of work, Ian enjoys surfing, snowboarding, trying to keep fit and losing golf balls. Ian has been on the board of directors, serving as treasurer for Clean Ocean Access, an environmental organization he helped attain 501c3 status for in 2014. Married to Michelle since 2007, his home is now in Southern Rhode Island with two grown up sons living in the US and UK.
Mr. Jason Webster, CTO & Co-Founder Jaia Robotics, BS Electrical Engineering (Brown University)
Jason has ten + years of underwater unmanned system engineering experience with Aquabotix and Jaia Robotics dealing with all aspects of the design, integration, test and manufacturing process. This includes work on underwater camera systems, ROVs and the swarming SwarmDiver micro UUV.
Jason is the coinventor and design authority for the JaiaBot System. Jason’s core strengths in system engineering, firmware and electrical engineering are complemented by strong project management skills. Jason takes pride in his work, stands by his ethics, and is an extraordinarily quick learner. Synergistic activities include serving as a volunteer judge for MATE underwater robotics competitions and hosting high school students to teach them about engineering, manufacturing, and business operations. In 2023 Jason presented at the United Nations World Ocean Week – “Advanced Technology at an Affordable Cost – Making Ocean Observing More Accessible” to dignitaries worldwide regarding how low-cost data collection can be employed to make critical decisions in under-funded areas. Jason is passionate about the user experience and making tools that genuinely make life easier.
His long-term goal is an industry recognized payload interface – think USB underwater. Jason currently resides with his better half, Carla, in Wareham, MA which despite all the signage to the contrary, is not Cape Cod.
Joshua Mickles brings an operator’s perspective to Jaia Robotics, shaped by more than a decade of service as a United States Marine Corps Reconnaissance Marine. His experience working with unmanned and autonomous systems in real world environments informs how he partners with customers and approaches problem solving today.
During his time in uniform, Joshua was deeply involved in the testing, evaluation, and field employment of new technologies, helping bridge the gap between what engineers built and what operators actually needed. That experience shaped his approach to leadership and continues to influence how he works with customers today.
Over the past two years at Jaia, Joshua has focused on turning capability into outcomes. He works closely with military and government partners to ensure Jaia’s systems are delivered, employed, and sustained in a way that creates lasting value. His role spans customer engagement, operational execution, and working to transition Jaia technology from early adoption into long term programs of record.
Joshua brings a practical, mission first mindset to everything he does. He is driven by trust, accountability, and a belief that technology should make operators more effective, not more burdened. At Jaia, his focus remains on supporting customers, strengthening partnerships, and helping build capabilities that will continue to evolve alongside the needs of the warfighter.
Michael Rock serves as Vice President of Product Management at Jaia Robotics, owning the product and capability roadmap and guiding technology development across the organization. He leads cross-functional teams to ensure Jaia’s systems align with customer needs, operational realities, and the company’s growth objectives.
Michael brings nearly a decade of experience in marine robotics and autonomous systems. Prior to joining Jaia as its second employee, he spent three years at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Newport developing autonomous behaviors for unmanned underwater vehicles, supporting the transition of advanced autonomy concepts into operational use. His background spans government programs, applied research, and commercial product development, with a consistent focus on deploying autonomy in real-world environments.
At Jaia, Michael works closely with customers, engineering, operations, customer success, and executive leadership to translate mission requirements into delivered product capabilities. His focus is on execution discipline, simplicity, and repeatability, ensuring Jaia delivers safe, easy-to-use autonomous systems that scale reliably with customer demand while providing a best-in-class operator experience and supporting long-term company growth. His undergraduate and graduate degrees are in Ocean Engineering from The University of Rhode Island.
Matt, Vice President of Software Engineering, leads the development of scalable, operator focused software for autonomous maritime systems. He oversees his team of senior software engineers, contractors, interns, and test engineers, and is responsible for software architecture, technical strategy, and delivery across the full Jaia software stack.
Matt has built and led the disciplined release process centered on quality and reliability. His team delivers regular monthly releases supported by unit testing, simulation testing, bench testing, field validation, and beta deployments before production rollout. Under his leadership, Jaia’s Command and Control software remains intuitive for new users while scaling to support new capabilities, larger fleets, and evolving mission requirements.
Matt plays a central role in product and roadmap planning, working closely with hardware, operations, and customers to ensure software capabilities align with real world use. His team regularly supports field operations, demonstrations, and customer deployments, helping translate operational feedback into actionable improvements and long term platform evolution.
Prior to Jaia, Matt spent nearly seven years with the Naval Sea Systems Command, where he developed deep technical expertise in uncrewed underwater vehicles, mission planning, and autonomy development. His experience operating and supporting these systems in demanding environments continues to inform how he designs software today, with a strong emphasis on usability, robustness, and operator trust.
In addition to his engineering leadership, Matt serves as Facility Security Officer and Insider Threat Program Senior Official, overseeing compliance and security practices in support of government and defense partners. Across his work, he brings a practical, systems level mindset focused on delivering software that is reliable in the field, maintainable over time, and aligned with how operators actually work in the field.
Matt earned his B.S. in Computer Science from UMass Dartmouth and M.S. in Software Engineering from Brandeis University.
Bio Coming Soon
