Principal Engineer, cUAS Lead, Omen

Telemetry Today LLC; Costa Mesa (CA); Hybrid; USD 220,000 - 292,000; Full time

Job summary

Anduril Industries in Costa Mesa, CA is seeking a Principal Engineer to own the Omen counter‑UAS payload from prototype to production. You will design the effector, firing system, and steering hardware, while building and leading a cross‑functional team across mechanical, electrical, firmware, and test disciplines.

The role requires deep hands‑on hardware experience, production know‑how, and the ability to travel ~25%. Eligible for a U.S. Secret clearance is expected.

Qualifications

• 10+ years designing electromechanical hardware from concept to production.
• Mechanical/Mechatronics/Aerospace/Electrical engineering background.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams and hiring.
• Strong design for high transient loads and precision mechanisms.
• Experience sizing actuators and control bandwidth tradeoffs.
• Experience in vibration and shock isolation and isolation selection.
• Experience selecting and characterizing ranging sensors (radar, lidar, EO/IR).
• Hands-on testing from rig design to data analysis.
• Experience bringing hardware to production: DFM, suppliers, first article.
• CAD proficiency (NX, SolidWorks).
• Willingness to travel ~25%.
• Eligible for US Secret clearance.

Responsibilities

• Own the counter‑UAS effector payload end to end from prototype to production.
• Design the effector and firing system; mounting, recoil, feed and interlocks.
• Own the steering hardware; size actuators and isolation for airframe loads.
• Maintain pointing error budget and track its components.
• Select sensors for ranging and tracking; verify range/latency/track quality.
• Build and lead the team across mechanical, electrical, firmware and test.
• Set payload roadmap balancing demos and production architecture.
• Own payload interface control with vehicle and mission system teams.
• Plan and run ground and flight tests; lead root-cause investigations.
• Design for manufacturability; supplier engagement and first article tests.
• Ensure safety and export control compliance in all work.

Skills

Electromechanical design

CAD modeling

Vibration isolation

Actuator sizing

Multidisciplinary leadership

Test & data analysis

Security clearance eligible

Travel willingness

Programming for test

Education

Engineering degree

Tools

CAD NX/SolidWorks

MATLAB/Simulink

FEM/FEA

Python/C++

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 Maneuver Dominance team at Anduril develops operationally relevant, multi‑asset autonomy. Omen is Anduril’s hover‑to‑cruise autonomous air vehicle (AAV) that packs the endurance, payload, and mission flexibility of much larger airplanes into a novel runway‑independent Group 3 platform. Omen can operate from ship decks, beaches, or remote island clearings, providing true runway independence and freedom of maneuver across defense and civilian domains. Omen is the first tail‑sitter aircraft with a mass‑production contract, with an order of 50 systems representing a decisive investment that anchors production and accelerates the development of future systems.

ABOUT THE JOB

Small drones are hard to hit. Hitting them from a moving aircraft is harder. We need a Principal Engineer to own Omen’s airborne counter‑UAS effector payload end to end, and to build the team around it.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Own the counter‑UAS effector payload end to end, from first prototype to qualified production hardware.
• Design the effector and firing system. Mounting structure, recoil and impulse management, feed and cycling, safe and arm interlocks.
• Own the steering hardware. Size the actuators, gearing, and drives, and design the isolation that protects the airframe from firing loads and the effector from rotor wash.
• Hold the pointing error budget and know where every part of it goes.
• Select and evaluate the sensors that range and locate the target. Bench and flight characterization for range accuracy, latency, and track quality against small targets in clutter.
• Build and lead the team. Hire across mechanical, electrical, firmware, and test, set the technical bar, and establish how the team works.
• Set the payload roadmap, balancing near‑term demonstrations against the architecture that has to carry into production.
• Own payload interface control with the vehicle and mission system teams. Mounting and alignment, power and signal definitions, harnessing, time sync.
• Plan and run ground and flight test campaigns, including live range events, and lead the root‑cause work when results do not match prediction.
• Take it to production. Design for manufacturability, tolerance and reliability analysis, supplier selection, first article, acceptance test.
• Work safety and compliance on safe and arm architecture, range safety, and export control.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• 10+ years designing electromechanical hardware, including at least one product you carried from concept to production
• Strong engineering background, ideally in Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, Aerospace, or Electrical Engineering
• Experience leading multidisciplinary teams, including hiring
• Deep mechanical design capability: structures under high transient loads, precision mechanisms, tolerance stack‑ups, and joint design
• Experience sizing actuators for precision pointing, and a working grasp of the control bandwidth tradeoffs that come with it
• Experience with vibration and shock isolation, including isolator selection and the dynamic analysis behind it
• Experience selecting and characterizing ranging sensors. Radar, lidar, EO/IR, or laser rangefinders
• Hands‑on test experience, from rig design and instrumentation through the data analysis that closes a design question
• Experience taking hardware to production: DFM, supplier engagement, first article inspection, acceptance test
• Proficiency in CAD (NX, SolidWorks, or equivalent)
• Ability to travel about 25% with potential surges for test and demonstration events
• Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Direct experience with weapon, effector, launcher, or ordnance‑adjacent systems, including safe and arm design
• Counter‑UAS experience, whether engagement chains, fire control, or targeting small unmanned aircraft
• VTOL, tail‑sitter, or rotorcraft experience, and familiarity with the payload environment they create (vibration, EMI, rotor wash)
• Experience with stabilized pointing, gimbals, boresighting, or targeting chains
• Familiarity with fire control, including lead and ballistic solutions and sensor‑to‑effector latency
• Airworthiness experience with external stores
• MATLAB/Simulink, multibody dynamics, or FEA for transient structural loads
• Familiarity with ITAR/EAR as it applies to effector development
• C++ or Python for test automation and data analysis

US Salary Range

$220,000 — $292,000 USD

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 .