Chief Engineer

Anduril Industries; Goleta (CA); On-site; USD 191,000 - 253,000; Full time

Job summary

Anduril Industries is seeking a Chief Engineer to act as the technical authority across projects, guiding multidisciplinary teams through the full product lifecycle. You will partner with TPMs to plan work, secure resources, and ensure on-time, on-budget execution while maintaining system integrity.

You will oversee product development from concept to production, coordinate with hardware, software, and electrical groups, and drive solutions for production and field issues, strengthening

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
• 10+ years of progressive engineering experience with senior technical leadership responsibilities.
• Experience as a technical authority or lead engineer on defense, aerospace, or similar programs.
• Proven ability to manage engineering teams and deliver programs on cost and schedule.
• Breadth across hardware, software, mechanical, and/or electrical domains.

Responsibilities

• Act as the technical authority and make key design decisions across projects and programs.
• Plan and track engineering work with TPMs, managing cost, schedule, and performance.
• Guide products from concept through development, testing, and production readiness.
• Coordinate with hardware, software, mechanical, electrical teams to allocate resources.
• Drive solutions for production and field issues and ensure continuous improvement.

Skills

Engineering leadership

Technical authority

Multidisciplinary teams

Program management

Clear communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering/CS/related field

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

The Anduril Imaging team develops state-of-the-art imaging systems across both hardware and software, deployed to tackle the most significant security challenges of America and its allies. The team is heavily involved in utilizing computer vision, perception, electro-optical, infrared, and sensor data to give our war fighters and allies an advantage.

About The Job

As a Chief Engineer at Anduril Imaging, you will serve as the technical authority on projects, programs, and tasks, managing an engineering team through the full product development lifecycle. You will work closely with Technical Program Managers (TPMs) to ensure on-time and on-budget execution, coordinate with functional engineering groups to scope and secure the right resources, and provide hands‑on technical leadership to your direct engineering and support staff.

What You’ll Do

• Serve as Technical Authority: Own the technical direction for assigned projects, programs, and tasks — making key design decisions, resolving technical issues, and ensuring system integrity across your portfolio.
• Manage Engineering Execution: Work hand‑in‑hand with TPMs to plan and track engineering efforts, managing cost, schedule, and performance. Lead your direct engineering and support staff to deliver against program milestones.
• Oversee Product Development: Guide products from concept through development, test, and into full production. Coordinate EMD activities with quality and production teams and ensure engineering readiness for Manufacturing Readiness Review (MRR).
• Scope Resources Across Functional Groups: Partner with functional engineering organizations (hardware, software, mechanical, electrical, etc.) to identify resource needs, negotiate allocations, and ensure the right expertise is applied to each effort.
• Support Production and Field Issues: Prioritize and drive engineering solutions for production and fielded‑system issues, ensuring timely resolution and continuous product improvement.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
• 10+ years of progressive engineering experience, including senior technical leadership roles overseeing multidisciplinary teams and complex system development.
• Experience serving as a technical authority or lead engineer on defense, aerospace, or similarly complex programs.
• Track record of managing engineering teams and delivering programs on cost and schedule in partnership with program management.
• Breadth across multiple engineering domains (e.g., hardware, software, mechanical, and/or electrical) and the ability to make informed trade‑offs across disciplines.
• Familiarity with New Product Introduction (NPI) processes, including EMD and manufacturing readiness.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to convey technical concepts clearly to engineering teams, program leadership, and customers.
• Experience working within a fast‑paced, high‑growth environment.
• Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Top Secret security clearance.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree in a relevant engineering or technical field.
• Experience in the defense or aerospace industry.
• Experience coordinating with TPMs and functional engineering organizations to scope and allocate resources across multiple concurrent efforts.

US Salary Range

$191,000—$253,000 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.

Protecting Yourself from Recruitment Scams

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.

To Ensure Your Safety And Help You Navigate Your Job Search With Confidence, Please Keep The Following Critical Points In Mind.

• No Financial Requests: Anduril will never solicit payment or demand personal financial details (such as banking information, credit card numbers, or social security numbers) at any stage of our hiring process. Our legitimate recruitment is entirely free for candidates.
• Please always verify communications:
• Direct from Anduril: If you receive an email from one of our recruiters, it will only come from an @anduril.com address.
• Via Agency Partner: If contacted by a recruiting agency for an Anduril role, their email will clearly identify their agency. If you suspect any suspicious activity, please verify the agency's authenticity by reaching out to [e-mail].
• Exercise Caution with Unsolicited Outreach: If you receive any communication that appears suspicious, contains grammatical errors, or makes unusual requests, do not engage. Always confirm the sender's email domain is @anduril.com before providing any personal information or clicking on links.
• What to Do If You Suspect Fraud: Should you encounter any questionable or fraudulent outreach claiming to be from Anduril, please report it immediately to [e-mail]. Your proactive caution is invaluable in protecting your personal information and upholding the security and trustworthiness of our recruitment efforts.

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.