Lead System Safety Engineer – Autonomous & AI Defense

Speedrun Talent Network; Costa Mesa (CA); On-site; USD 253,000 - 336,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity grants

Top-tier benefits

Job summary

Anduril Industries, a defense tech leader, seeks a Principal System Safety Engineer to set safety philosophy and oversee risk across Air Dominance, Maritime, Ground Systems, Space, and Autonomy/Lattice. You will lead independent safety assessments, drive certification readiness, and influence enterprise safety standards.

You will push advanced analysis for AI/ML-enabled systems, tailor MIL-STD-882E, and collaborate with customers and regulators to ensure safe fielding of capabilities.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 15 years of industry experience as a System Safety Engineer or equivalent engineering background.
• B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Systems Engineering, or equivalent technical discipline.
• Direct experience with government safety review boards such as WSESRB, NNMSB, and SSSTRP including building the safety case and board approval.
• Deep experience with safety-critical hardware and software systems in defense or aerospace, with a preference for weapon systems, aircraft, UAS, maritime, space, munitions, or rotorcraft.
• Expert-level knowledge of MIL-STD-882E and familiarity with service-level system safety policy and JSSSEH.
• Expert background in safety analysis techniques including FTA, FHA, SCFTA, and FMECA.
• Extensive design review experience (PDR, CDR, MRR) and strong presentation skills across leadership.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills and ability to influence without formal authority.
• Willingness to travel across sites and test ranges to support programs.
• Eligibility to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a company-wide System Safety technical authority across all divisions.
• Conduct independent end-to-end safety assessments of programs at any lifecycle phase.
• Deploy as a senior resource to programs, establishing a credible System Safety approach quickly.
• Prepare programs for formal government safety certification.
• Shape enterprise risk posture with analytical models and risk acceptance philosophy.
• Pioneer analysis and verification approaches for AI/autonomy systems where coverage is limited.
• Negotiate safety criteria with customers and regulatory authorities.
• Drive safety philosophy and requirements across the enterprise.
• Grow senior engineers into recognized experts and create training frameworks.
• Represent Anduril in industry groups and safety forums.

Skills

System safety leadership

MIL-STD-882E

FTA/FHA/FMECA

Safety analysis

Safety certification readiness

Risk assessment

Communication to executives

Travel willingness

Security clearance readiness

Education

B.S. Mechanical/Aerospace/Systems Engineering

WSESRB/NNMSB/SSSTRP experience

Tools

Relyence

Teamcenter

JIRA/JAMA/Cameo/Ansys

Job description

Anduril Industries, a defense tech leader, seeks a Principal System Safety Engineer to set safety philosophy and oversee risk across Air Dominance, Maritime, Ground Systems, Space, and Autonomy/Lattice. You will lead independent safety assessments, drive certification readiness, and influence enterprise safety standards.

You will push advanced analysis for AI/ML-enabled systems, tailor MIL-STD-882E, and collaborate with customers and regulators to ensure safe fielding of capabilities.