Chief Engineer, Conventional ISR

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

Benefits offered by this job

Equity grants

Comprehensive benefits

Job summary

Anduril Industries in Costa Mesa, CA is seeking a Chief Engineer to lead the technical development of new aircraft concepts from concept refinement through detailed design, build, and flight test. You will own the technical baseline, build and guide a multi-disciplinary team across aerodynamics, structures, GNC, propulsion, avionics, and software to deliver systems on a rapid timeline.

The role requires driving design trades, ensuring airworthiness, planning tests, and balancing risk with

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, or related engineering field.

Responsibilities

• Own the technical baseline and lead a multi-disciplinary engineering team through detailed design, system integration, and verification.
• Coordinate prototype build & integration to resolve engineering challenges during build.
• Lead the engineering team in planning and executing a comprehensive test program, including ground test and developmental flight test.
• Guide design trades, subsystem optimization, and interface management to ensure cohesive air vehicle architecture.
• Serve as the technical authority for system safety and ensure data artifacts for flight releases.
• Drive root cause analysis and implement effective solutions during integration and testing.
• Partner with manufacturing to ensure design is production-ready and support clean transition to production.
• Support deployed flight test and demonstration activities at customer sites.

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, or related engineering 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 Air Dominance and Strike (AD&S) Chief Engineering Team is the technical authority for our most critical programs. They are responsible for owning the technical baseline, leading multi-disciplinary engineering teams through rigorous development and flight test and delivering revolutionary airborne systems that meet the mission. They are the ultimate problem-solvers, driving technical execution from architecture to operational demonstration.

About The Job

Anduril is looking for strong technical leaders to spearhead the development of new capabilities for new customers. You’ll own the technical development from concept refinement through detailed design, build, and flight test of new aircraft concepts. These projects will require you to leverage your technical expertise and leadership skills to set objectives, build a team, and produce real products on a rapid timeline. The ability to leverage your intuition and prior experience in programmatic level decision making will play a key component in making sure the right design, analysis, and test steps are completed to ensure success while carefully balancing risk and execution speed.

What You’ll Do

• Lead Technical Execution: Own the technical baseline and lead a multi-disciplinary engineering team (aerodynamics, structures, GNC, propulsion, avionics, software) through detailed design, system integration, and verification.
• Oversee Prototype Build & Integration: Coordinate the fabrication and assembly of prototype and development articles, resolving engineering challenges that arise during the build process.
• Drive the Test Campaign: Lead the engineering team in planning and executing a comprehensive test program, including ground test, SIL/HIL integration, and developmental flight test, to validate performance and expand the operational envelope.
• Manage System Design & Architecture: Guide the team through critical design trades, sub-system optimization, and interface management to ensure a cohesive and high-performance air vehicle architecture.
• Ensure Airworthiness & Safety: Serve as the technical authority for system safety and partner with test teams to develop the data and artifacts required to achieve military flight releases.
• Problem Solve & Troubleshoot: Act as the lead technical problem-solver, driving root cause analysis and implementing effective solutions for issues discovered during integration and testing.
• Prepare for Production: Partner with the manufacturing engineering team to ensure the design is production-ready (DFM/DFA) and support a clean transition to production.
• Support deployed flight test and demonstration activities at customer and test sites.

Required Qualifications

• Experience as a Chief Engineer, Integrated Product Team (IPT) Lead, or senior technical leader on a Group 3+ ISR and/or strike platform
• Deep, hands-on experience leading a multi-disciplinary team through at least one major phase of aircraft EMD (e.g., detailed design, prototype build, or flight test).
• Proven track record of taking a complex aircraft system from design into build and successful flight testing.
• Strong technical foundation across multiple core aircraft disciplines (e.g., aerodynamics, structures, GNC, propulsion, systems integration), with an emphasis on mission systems capabilities and integration.
• Strong understanding of the "why" behind Vehicle and Systems design.
• Experience working on mission-critical DoD or advanced development aircraft programs.
• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, or a related engineering field.
• Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with developmental flight test, including test planning, risk management, and data analysis.
• Direct experience leading the prototype build of a UAS at Group 3 or above.
• Prior experience with DOW technology development organizations (e.g., DARPA, AFRL) on advanced flight programs.
• Background in a "Skunk Works," "Phantom Works," or fast-paced startup environment focused on rapid hardware prototyping.
• Experience with a wide range of manufacturing processes, including additive manufacturing, advanced composites, and automated assembly.
• A "player-coach" leadership style with a willingness to be deeply involved in the day-to-day build.
• An active Top Secret security clearance.

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.

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