Air Vehicle Lead, High Speed Missiles

Anduril Industries; Costa Mesa (CA); On-site; USD 161,000 - 219,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity grants

Competitive benefits

Job summary

Anduril Industries is seeking an Air Vehicle Lead in Costa Mesa, CA to oversee mechanical development of autonomous air vehicles from concept through flight testing. You will shape requirements, drive architecture, and lead a team of engineers to deliver deployable systems.

The role requires 8+ years in aerospace, a strong CAD background, and an active U.S. Secret clearance. The position emphasizes hands-on design, fabrication, and collaboration with customers and vendors.

Qualifications

• BS in aerospace, mechanical engineering, or related field.
• MS in aerospace, mechanical engineering or related field preferred.
• Active U.S. Secret security clearance is required.
• Experience delivering air vehicle concepts to flight-ready systems.

Responsibilities

• Lead mechanical development of autonomous air vehicles from concept to flight test.
• Derive and shape requirements internally and with external stakeholders.
• Drive system architecture to meet performance, rate, and cost targets.
• Hands-on design, analysis, fabrication, and assembly of airframes and subsystems.
• Lead design reviews and present to customers; coordinate with vendors and test plans.
• Build prototypes, analyze failures, and transition successful projects to production.
• Travel to test sites and engage with customers as needed.
• Provide individual contributions while leading a multi-disciplinary team of engineers.

Skills

Aerospace design

CAD proficiency

Air vehicle development

Project leadership

Security clearance

Education

BS in aerospace/mechanical engineering or related field

MS in aerospace/mechanical engineering (preferred)

Tools

NX/Teamcenter

Job description

Anduril Industries is a defense technology company with a mission to transform U.S. and allied military capabilities with advanced technology. By bringing the expertise, technology, and business model of the 21st century’s most innovative companies to the defense industry, Anduril is changing how military systems are designed, built and sold. Anduril’s family of systems is powered by Lattice OS, an AI-powered operating system that turns thousands of data streams into a realtime, 3D command and control center. As the world enters an era of strategic competition, Anduril is committed to bringing cutting-edge autonomy, AI, computer vision, sensor fusion, and networking technology to the military in months, not years.

Anduril Industries is a defense technology company with a mission to transform U.S. and allied military capabilities with advanced technology. By bringing the expertise, technology, and business model of the 21st century’s most innovative companies to the defense industry, Anduril is changing how military systems are designed, built and sold. Anduril’s family of systems is powered by Lattice OS, an AI-powered operating system that turns thousands of data streams into a realtime, 3D command and control center. As the world enters an era of strategic competition, Anduril is committed to bringing cutting-edge autonomy, AI, computer vision, sensor fusion, and networking technology to the military in months, not years.

About The Team

We are looking for an Air Vehicle Lead to join our rapidly growing Air Dominance and Strike team in Costa Mesa, CA. In this role, you will be responsible for the mechanical development of new autonomous missile systems. This will require strong understanding and experience developing advanced air vehicles from concept to delivery. If you are someone who thrives in a fast moving environment and you have experience driving design solutions then this role is for you.

What You'll Do

• Lead the mechanical development of new autonomous air vehicles, from initial system layout and conceptual design through detail design, fabrication, and flight test
• Derive and shape requirements both internally and externally
• Drive system architecture and design solutions in order to meet performance, rate, and cost requirements
• Hands‑on development of aircraft, airframe, and subsystem detailed design, analysis, fabrication, and assembly
• Lead design reviews, present to customers, visit vendors, help define and execute test plans
• Build prototypes, analyze failures, and transition successful projects into production
• Travel to test sites and support customer discussions as needed
• Provide individual contributions in addition to technical leadership and oversight for a team of 10 to 25 multidisciplinary engineers

Required Qualifications

• BS in aerospace, mechanical engineering, or related field
• 8+ years of aerospace experience in a professional setting
• Working knowledge of MIL standards and industry best practices
• Strong understanding and experience developing air vehicle conceptual designs and transitioning them to flying and deployable systems
• Familiarity with key aircraft subsystems and their development methods, including aero‑performance, stability and control, structures, mechanisms, avionics, propulsion, fuel systems, thermodynamics, electrical integration, etc.
• Experience creating, organizing, and managing complex vehicle development designs in CAD
• Experience developing and using aircraft sizing tools
• Experience with prototype and production airframe manufacturing methods including composites and metallics
• Demonstrate leadership skills to manage scope and schedules, deconflict issues, communicate up and down the chain, maximize teamwork and collaboration in a dynamic environment.
• Must possess and be able to maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance

Preferred Qualifications

• MS in aerospace, mechanical engineering or related field
• Working knowledge of NX/Teamcenter
• Experience with air launched expendable systems
• Experience with air breathing high sub‑sonic or super sonic expendable systems
• Experience with liquid or solid rocket motors on expendable systems
• Hands on manufacturing or fabrication experience
• Familiarity with low observable design principles
• Experience with surfacing and OML loft modeling
• Competency in engineering analysis, including aerodynamics, structural, thermal, and electrical

US Salary Range

$175,000—$205,000 USD

Benefits

• The salary range for this role is an estimate based on a wide range of compensation factors, inclusive of base salary only. Actual salary offer may vary based on (but not limited to) work experience, education and/or training, critical skills, and/or business considerations.
• Highly competitive equity grants are included in the majority of full time offers; and are considered part of Anduril’s total compensation package.
• Additionally, Anduril offers top‑tier benefits for full‑time employees, including: At Anduril, we invest in our people. Our comprehensive, competitive benefits package (available at little to no cost to employees) ensures you’re supported in health, recovery, and whatever comes next. For more information, Explore Our Benefits.

Data Privacy

To view Anduril’s candidate data privacy policy, please visit https://anduril.com/applicant-privacy-notice/.

By submitting your application, you consent to Anduril Industries using a third‑party service provider to conduct pre‑employment risk, integrity, and due diligence screening and assessing potential risks as part of your application process. This third‑party service provider provides risk‑intelligence services that may include analysis of sanctions and watchlists, adverse media, public‑record information, and other lawful open‑source or commercial data sources. This third‑party service provider does not act as a consumer reporting agency. Use of this provider helps to ensure compliance with applicable laws and protect technology, intellectual property, and organizational security.