Raymond Pearlson (born 2 March 1926) is an American marine engineer and the inventor of the Syncrolift System, which was designed to both launch ships and lift them out of the water for repair.
After three years war service in the Navy he studied naval architecture and marine engineering at the University of Michigan, graduating in 1949 with a B.Sc.
In 1953 he moved to work as Chief Engineer at Merrill Stevens, a small shipyard in Miami, Florida, where he was entrusted with the construction of a 300-ton lifting capacity boatlift and transfer system.
During the process he developed an innovative drydocking concept using simple electro-mechanical components to overcome the inherent limitations of lifting capacity and size.
In 1957, he designed and built the first Syncrolift shiplift with a lifting capacity of 100 tons, and in 1958 formed Pearlson Engineering Company (PECO) to develop his invention.