Mechanical Engineer, Lead

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

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive equity grants

Comprehensive benefits package

Job summary

Anduril Industries is seeking a Lead Mechanical Engineer at our Costa Mesa HQ to shape the future of autonomous drone technology. This role involves leading product development for complex systems, from gimbals to rocket motors, ensuring successful integration and execution across teams.

The ideal candidate will have a strong background in mechanical design with 7+ years of experience, alongside excellent CAD skills. A competitive salary range of $191,000—$253,000 USD is offered, complemented by top-tier employee benefits.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of progressive mechanical/design experience.
• Experience in technical leadership roles managing engineering teams.
• Strong engineering judgment to develop suitable solutions.

Responsibilities

• Own complete integration and execution of complex products.
• Drive technical teams through mentorship and direction.
• Lead adoption of new methodologies and tools.

Skills

Mechanical design experience

Technical leadership

Expert CAD skills

Expertise in structures and mechanisms

Proven mentoring abilities

Education

BS or MS in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

Solidworks

NX

Job description

About The Team

Anduril’s Tactical Recon & Strike (TRS) is a division with two missions: 1) build highly capable autonomous drones, and 2) build solid rocket motors at scale. We transform products like Ghost, Anvil, Bolt, and Altius from early concepts into fully operational capabilities by partnering closely with specialist engineering, operations, and production teams. Through our Anduril Rocket Motor Systems (RMS) team, we design and manufacture solid rocket motors using advanced materials, proprietary formulations, and high-volume production methods—delivering safe, reliable propulsion systems that support a wide range of mission requirements. TRS hires software engineers & hardware engineers, who are excited to build across a diverse and powerful portfolio—from autonomous aerial systems to high-performance solid rocket motors. Our teams contribute to highly capable autonomous robotics systems and propulsion products that operate reliably in the most demanding mission environment.

About The Job

Anduril is seeking a Mechanical Engineer, Lead to join the team at our Costa Mesa HQ. Here you will lead core product development for drones and complex systems, including but not limited to optical gimbals, batteries, mechanisms, structures, sensors and payloads. This role requires expert-level ownership of complete product integration and execution, with strategic influence across multiple teams and disciplines. The ideal candidate would be a technical leader who drives adoption of new methodologies, provides deep expertise, and sets the standard for technical excellence. High growth potential is possible as well as additional leadership opportunities.

What You’ll Do

• Own complete integration and execution of complex products and product families from concept to full rate production
• Drive the work of technical teams through technical leadership, mentorship, and strategic direction
• Drive overall goals for product success through leadership and direction across disciplines
• Identify needs and gaps, then define best practices and standards and deploy those broadly across the organization
• Lead design reviews and drive buy-in from cross-disciplinary partners, serving as a trusted advisor
• Provide technical guidance and leadership to multi-disciplinary teams, shaping project direction and ensuring alignment with organizational goals
• Perform advanced hand calculations and FEA to develop, assess, and optimize designs with engineering judgment appropriate to product maturity
• Build prototypes, define and execute hardware test plans, iterate on designs, and produce authoritative technical documentation summarizing results
• Perform root cause investigations for hardware failures and proactively identify and resolve conflicts in both technical and programmatic challenges
• Balance operational needs across vehicle subsystems while optimizing for development speed, mass, manufacturability, cost, and long-term sustainment
• Lead adoption of new tools, methodologies, and manufacturing methods for step‑function improvements
• Mentor engineers across teams and influence organizational technical strategy
• Support critical hardware demonstrations with customers as needed
• Travel to test sites and vendors as needed

Required Qualifications

• 7+ years of progressive mechanical/design experience, including 3+ years in technical leadership roles managing engineering teams
• Demonstrated wholistic ownership of challenging technical problems and multiple complete products or product families from concept through production
• Experience scaling and shipping complex products
• Expert CAD skills with exceptional quality suitable as templates and training materials
• Expertise in structures, thermal management, and mechanisms, with depth in electrical integration
• Proven ability to set the standard for technical work within a group
• Expert in standard manufacturing methods with capability to explore adjacent fields, including designing for manufacturability and scale
• Strong engineering judgment to right‑size solutions based on product maturity
• Demonstrated ability to understand and communicate the full picture of technical value in terms of finance, impact, and position to the business
• Excellence in delivering clear, complex ideas in writing and speech through polished technical documents, reports, and presentations
• Proven track record of mentoring multiple teams and driving cross‑functional initiatives
• Ability to drive technical work through influence and leadership, with potential to transition into people management roles
• BS or MS in Mechanical Engineering, or equivalent work experience

Preferred Qualifications

• Expert proficiency in Solidworks or NX, and PLM systems
• Mastery of GD&T application and ability to define standards for others
• Deep expertise in multiple manufacturing methods: CNC machining, composites, sheet metal, injection molding, PCBA integration, with ability to lead adoption of new methods
• Exceptional leadership and interpersonal skills with demonstrated ability to influence across the organization
• Experience authoring responses to RFIs, proposals to customers and agencies, or white papers
• Extensive experience running qualification campaigns for flight hardware
• Expert‑level experience designing for rugged environments
• Strong understanding of electro‑mechanical and electrical design concepts
• Significant depth in one or two focus areas of Mechanical Engineering, building towards becoming an expert
• Experience driving technological advancement towards future product families

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.