Payload Lead

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

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, vision benefits

Equity grants

Retirement plans

Paid time off

Job summary

Anduril Industries in Costa Mesa, CA, is seeking a payload integration engineer for maritime autonomous systems. You will own payload interfaces, integration with third‑party payloads, and the autonomy stack to meet mission requirements.

The role requires a bachelor's in engineering or computer science, 5+ years in payload or mission systems, and the ability to obtain a U.S. Top Secret clearance; travel up to 25% to test sites and customer locations may be required.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of payload integration, weapons systems, or mission systems experience.
• Experience delivering payload integration in defense or aerospace environments.
• Understanding of military mission sets and payload capabilities.

Responsibilities

• 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.

Skills

Payload integration

Defense industry experience

Sensor integration

Mission systems

Cross-functional leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering or Computer Science

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, 3‑D 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 responsible for planning and executing Anduril’s product and revenue roadmap for maritime missions. Working across product, engineering, business development, logistics, and operations, the Maritime team develops, tests, deploys, and sustains the Anduril maritime capabilities in a challenging operational environment worldwide. As a leader in the Maritime Division, you must be a technical leader with the expertise to evaluate, qualify, manage, and advocate for an increasing number of sophisticated parallel pursuits. This role is crucial in ensuring that each initiative aligns with the company’s strategic direction and receives the appropriate resourcing, balancing innovation with practical execution to drive the business line’s success.

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

Salary Range

US Salary Range: $191,000 - $253,000 USD

Benefits

Anduril offers top‑tier benefits for full‑time employees, including health, dental, vision, retirement plans, paid time off, and equity grants as part of the overall compensation package. Our benefits program is designed to support the well‑being of our employees and their families.