Chief Engineer

Slope; Costa Mesa (CA); On-site; USD 222,000 - 263,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans

Generous PTO plans

Professional development reimbursement

Job summary

Anduril in Costa Mesa, California, is seeking an experienced leader for technical development of unmanned aircraft. This role encompasses guidance in design, fabrication, and testing while working closely with a diverse team of experts. Ideal candidates will possess a bachelor's degree in a relevant field and a deep understanding of unmanned vehicle systems. A competitive salary range of $222,000—$263,000 and extensive benefits package, including comprehensive healthcare, retirement plans, and paid time off, are offered.

Qualifications

• Experience in a senior role leading air vehicle programs.
• Proven ability to deliver functional capabilities aligned with technical objectives.
• Eligibility to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical and programmatic execution of air vehicle systems.
• Coordinate the fabrication of prototype and production articles.
• Manage system and sub-system detailed design.

Skills

Deep understanding of unmanned aircraft

Leadership in air vehicle programs

System optimization challenges

Collaboration with stakeholders

Troubleshooting remotely deployed systems

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical or Software engineering

Job description

About the Job

You’ll own the technical development of large aircraft from white paper sketches and conceptual design through detailed design, build, flight test, transition to production, and sustainment. This includes vehicle layout and conceptual design, airframe and propulsion system design and integration, guidance section development, payload and datalink integration, fabrication and flight test. These projects will be diverse in nature and require you to leverage your technical expertise as well as leadership skills to set objectives, build a team, and drive to completion. The ability to leverage your intuition and prior experience in programmatic level decision will play a key component in making sure the right design/analysis/ and test steps are being completed to ensure success without simply completing steps for the sake of the process that don’t add value. The ideal candidate will leverage their experience executing and successfully completing prior highly optimized multi-disciplinary projects.

What You’ll Do

• Lead technical and programmatic execution of new and existing air vehicle systems design, fabrication, test, productization and sustainment.
• Own the technical and programmatic success of your programs, establish technical and programmatic vision assemble teams of internal and external subject matter experts, and communicate that vision to them.
• Set up trades to enable the exploration of early conceptual designs while working closely with technical SME’s and Business Development teams to find the right solution to current and future gaps in the DOD capability to ensure the warfighter has the best solution for current and future conflicts.
• Manage the detailed design of the system and subsystems including requirements development, sub-system trades and optimization, risk management etc. to ensure the appropriate consideration of design key performance parameters, schedule, costs and risks.
• Coordinate the fabrication of prototype and low-rate production articles and subsystem/system level test efforts.
• Support remotely deployed operations of your systems.
• Work with senior leadership to ensure resource plans are adequate for work scope.

Required Qualifications

• Deep understanding of unmanned aircraft at and above Group 3 class
• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical or Software engineering, or equivalent experience in a relevant field.
• Experience in a senior role leading air vehicle programs from initial concept through test and delivery to customers
• Experience driving strategic direction in competitive landscapes, solving complex system optimization challenges under tight constraints.
• Proven ability to deliver functional capabilities while aligning technical objectives with programmatic outcomes.
• Demonstrated collaboration and partnerships with internal and external stakeholders
• Strong understanding of the “why” behind Vehicle and Systems design.
• Experience working on mission critical DOD systems
• Experience troubleshooting and analyzing remotely deployed systems.
• Travel up to 50% to Customer and Test Sites
• Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance

US Salary Range$222,000—$263,000 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:

Healthcare Benefits

• US Roles: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans at little to no cost to you.
• UK & AUS Roles: We cover full cost of medical insurance premiums for you and your dependents.
• IE Roles: We offer an annual contribution toward your private health insurance for you and your dependents.

Additional Benefits

• Income Protection: Anduril covers life and disability insurance for all employees.
• Generous time off: Highly competitive PTO plans with a holiday hiatus in December. Caregiver & Wellness Leave is available to care for family members, bond with a new baby, or address your own medical needs.
• Family Planning & Parenting Support: Coverage for fertility treatments (e.g., IVF, preservation), adoption, and gestational carriers, along with resources to support you and your partner from planning to parenting.
• Mental Health Resources: Access free mental health resources 24/7, including therapy and life coaching. Additional work-life services, such as legal and financial support, are also available.
• Professional Development: Annual reimbursement for professional development
• Commuter Benefits: Company-funded commuter benefits based on your region.
• Relocation Assistance: Available depending on role eligibility.

Retirement Savings Plan

• US Roles: Traditional 401(k), Roth, and after-tax (mega backdoor Roth) options.
• UK & IE Roles: Pension plan with employer match.
• AUS Roles: Superannuation plan.

The recruiter assigned to this role can share more information about the specific compensation and benefit details associated with this role during the hiring process.

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