Autonomy UAV Operator – Field Missions & Deployments

Anduril Industries; Costa Mesa (CA); On-site; USD 113,000 - 155,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity grants

Top-tier benefits

Job summary

Anduril Industries, Costa Mesa, CA, is seeking a seasoned operations engineer to bridge product engineering and deployed operations for autonomy-enabled UAVs. You’ll own field deployment readiness, stand up forward-deployed ops in austere environments, and support vehicle autonomy development through tests and demos.

Ideal candidates have hands-on field experience, defense industry background, and comfort with complex, data-driven problem solving. Travel up to 80% is required.

Qualifications

• Extensive hands-on (field operations, manufacturing, or test) technical experience.
• Prior military or defense contractor experience as a manned or unmanned pilot/operator, Network technician, or Crew Chief/maintainer (Avionics, GNC, Electrical)
• Demonstrated understanding of flight operations, aircraft systems, and sensors
• Demonstrated ability to solve problems in unstructured situations at the interface of hardware, software, and operations in pursuit of mission success
• Experience working with cross-functional engineering teams and external customers; demonstrated ability to collect differing opinions and reconcile them in order to achieve agreement on what ‘right’ looks like
• Experience performing data-driven root cause analysis on complex systems using logs as a source of truth
• Intermediate to advanced understanding and experience for some or all of the following: Computers; terminal environment, server management, programming languages (Python, Rust, MATLAB)
• IP Networking; Network Administration or Design, strong troubleshooting experience required
• Radios; MANET, SATCOM, Backhual systems
• Demonstrated ability to train peers or customers on the operation of a product
• Must have prior, operationally relevant, deployment experience
• Willingness to travel up to 80% including occasional deployments for up to two months at a time
• Able to work extended hours as required
• Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S.Top Secret security clearance
• Able to meet health and medical requirements in advance of deployments in accordance with DFARS 252.225-7040, DoDI 3020.41, and/or any additional requirements outlined by region or supporting force, as applicable.

Responsibilities

• Stand up forward-deployed operations in austere environments, ensuring the successful combat employment of Anduril products.
• Shape the long-term sustainment of deployed products and support test events and customer demonstrations closer to home.
• Support development of vehicle autonomy by collaborating with test teams and customers to validate capabilities.

Skills

Field operations

Military/defense experience

Flight operations

Data analysis

Python

Networking

Education

Bachelor's degree in aerospace/mechanical

Tools

Python

MATLAB

Rust

Networking tools

Job description

Anduril Industries, Costa Mesa, CA, is seeking a seasoned operations engineer to bridge product engineering and deployed operations for autonomy-enabled UAVs. You’ll own field deployment readiness, stand up forward-deployed ops in austere environments, and support vehicle autonomy development through tests and demos.

Ideal candidates have hands-on field experience, defense industry background, and comfort with complex, data-driven problem solving. Travel up to 80% is required.