Air Vehicle Lead, Missiles

Anduril-1; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 175,000 - 205,000; 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, oversee design reviews, and coordinate with vendors while leading a team of 10–25 engineers in a fast-moving environment.

The role demands 8+ years in aerospace, strong CAD experience, and an active U.S. Secret clearance, with emphasis on aero-performance, structures, propulsion, and avionics interfaces.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's in aerospace, mechanical engineering, or related field.
• 8+ years aerospace experience in a professional setting.
• Active U.S. Secret security clearance.
• Experience developing air vehicle concepts to deployment.

Responsibilities

• Lead mechanical development of autonomous air vehicles from concept to flight test.
• Derive requirements internally and with customers.
• Drive system architecture to meet performance, rate, and cost.
• Oversee prototypes, testing, and transition to production.
• Lead design reviews and coordinate with vendors and customers.

Skills

Air vehicle leadership

Team leadership

Systems engineering

CAD modeling

Aerospace experience

Education

Bachelor's in aerospace/mechanical engineering

Tools

NX/Teamcenter

CAD software

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.

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 missile systems. This will require strong understanding of 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

• 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 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

• Master's 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

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 .

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Anduril is committed to maintaining the integrity of our Talent acquisition process and the security of our candidates. We've observed a rise in sophisticated phishing and fraudulent schemes where individuals impersonate Anduril representatives, luring job seekers with false interviews or job offers. These scammers often attempt to extract payment or sensitive personal information.

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