Mission Systems - Payload Lead, Maritime

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

Job summary

Anduril Industries is seeking a Senior Payload Integration Engineer for its Maritime Division in California. You will own payload interfaces and lead integration of Anduril and government payloads from concept through deployment, reporting to the Mission Systems Lead.

You will drive interoperability, develop reference mission kits, and ensure mission requirements are met across platforms. The role requires hands-on technical leadership, cross-functional collaboration, and the ability to guide

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent.
• 5+ years delivering payload integration in defense or aerospace.
• Eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. Top Secret security clearance.
• Experience with sensor integration, weapons systems, or C4ISR payloads.

Responsibilities

• Own payload architecture across mechanical, electrical, and software interfaces.
• Drive integration of Anduril payloads and government-furnished equipment.
• Develop reference mission kits pairing payloads with autonomy behaviors.
• Define payload interface requirements with Vehicle Systems.
• Coordinate with third-party vendors on qualification and integration.

Skills

Payload integration

Systems engineering

Mission systems

Sensor integration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering/CS

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

Anduril's Maritime Division is transforming American sea power to meet the defining national security challenges of our era and secure our future of maritime dominance. We are scaling at an historic pace, anchored by Arsenal-2, our new software-defined shipyard being built in Baltimore County, Maryland. It's part of a new $6.6 billion investment in America's submarine industrial base.

Arsenal-2 i s purpose-built to break long-standing industrial bottlenecks and scale production of critical components for the Navy's Virginia-class attack submarines to support fleet requirements. At the same time, it will build the industrial muscle to field our next-generation Next-generation AUVs at scale.

We aren't waiting for the new shipyard to be completed. The work on this transformation starts right now, with development inside our new 160,000 square foot Proto-Factory in Orange County, California , where the team is already laying the foundation. As the prototyping hub for Arsenal-2, this facility gives us a multi-year head start, proving out the advanced manufacturing methods, digital workflows, and quality systems that will scale across our broader shipyard network.

In Anduril's Maritime Division, we are actively building America's next decisive advantage at sea-and t his is the moment to join us.

ABOUT THE JOB

You will own payload integration within Mission Systems for a maritime autonomous vehicle, owning integration of Anduril and third-party payloads from concept through deployment. Reporting to the Mission Systems Lead, you will own payload interfaces, interoperability, mission development, and reference mission kits. You will ensure payloads meet customer mission requirements and integrate with the vehicle platform and autonomy stack.

Your spectrum of support will be diverse in nature and require you to leverage your technical expertise as well as leadership skills to set objectives, build cross-functional teams, and rapidly drive to completion. The ability to leverage your intuition and prior experience will be key in making sure the right design, analysis, and test steps are completed to ensure success. The ideal candidate will leverage their experience executing and successfully completing prior highly optimized multi-disciplinary projects.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Own payload architecture: mechanical, electrical, and software interfaces for all mission payloads
• Drive integration of Anduril payloads and government-furnished equipment onto the platform
• Drive interoperability standards for payload modularity across vehicle configurations
• Develop reference mission kits that package payloads with autonomy behaviors for specific mission sets
• Define payload interface requirements and work with Vehicle Systems on accommodation
• Manage payload integration schedule and cost across prototype and production phases
• Coordinate with third-party vendors on payload qualification and integration
• Provide technical mentorship to engineers across payload disciplines
• Support testing and field deployment of payload systems
• Represent the payload subsystem in technical and customer meetings
• Interface with Mission Systems Lead and autonomy team on mission system integration
• Travel up to 25% to test sites, vendor facilities, and customer locations

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent
• 5+ years of experience in payload integration, weapons systems, or mission systems
• Experience delivering payload integration in defense or aerospace environments
• Demonstrated experience with sensor integration, weapons systems, or C4ISR payloads
• Experience with the full product delivery lifecycle: design, test, manufacturing, deployment
• Deep understanding of military mission sets and payload capabilities
• Eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. Top Secret security clearance

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience with maritime or undersea payload systems
• Working knowledge of payload certification and weapons safety (MIL-STD-882E)
• Experience with autonomous systems payload integration
• Familiarity with modular open systems architecture (MOSA)
• Prior Navy or defense operational experience

US Salary Range

$191,000 - $253,000 USD

The salary range for this role i