Air Vehicle Lead — Autonomous Flight Systems

Roboticsconnected; Costa Mesa (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

Anduril Industries in Costa Mesa, CA seeks an Air Vehicle Lead to drive the mechanical development of autonomous air vehicles from concept through flight test. You will shape requirements, lead system architecture, and oversee CAD design, fabrication, and integration of airframe subsystems.

You will guide a multidisciplinary team of 10–25 engineers, lead design reviews, and coordinate with customers and vendors to ensure successful transitions from prototype to production.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's 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 of air vehicle conceptual design and transitioning to flying/deployable systems.
• Familiarity with aircraft subsystems and development methods (aero-performance, structures, avionics, propulsion, 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 (composites and metallics).
• Demonstrate leadership to manage scope, schedules, and teamwork; maintain security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Lead the mechanical development of autonomous air vehicles from concept to flight test.
• Derive and shape internal and external requirements.
• Drive system architecture to meet performance, rate, and cost targets.
• Hands-on design, analysis, fabrication, and assembly of airframes and subsystems.
• Lead design reviews, present to customers, and coordinate with vendors.
• Build prototypes, analyze failures, and transition to production.
• Travel to test sites and support customer discussions as needed.
• Provide technical leadership for a team of 10–25 engineers.

Skills

Leadership

CAD

Air vehicle concepts

Requirements derivation

Education

Bachelor's in aerospace, mechanical engineering, or related field

Tools

NX/Teamcenter

Job description

Anduril Industries in Costa Mesa, CA seeks an Air Vehicle Lead to drive the mechanical development of autonomous air vehicles from concept through flight test. You will shape requirements, lead system architecture, and oversee CAD design, fabrication, and integration of airframe subsystems.

You will guide a multidisciplinary team of 10–25 engineers, lead design reviews, and coordinate with customers and vendors to ensure successful transitions from prototype to production.