Principal System Safety Engineer

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 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 Reliability & System Safety Engineering organization is hiring Principal System Safety Engineers to operate across the entire company. This role is not scoped to a single program or product line. Domains include Air Dominance & Strike, Maritime, Ground Systems, Space, Counter-UAS, and Autonomy/Lattice. The Reliability & System Safety Engineering team works with our broader Engineering team to ensure our products are safe and meet all mission performance, environmental, and customer requirements. We develop cutting-edge System Safety processes and methods to secure scalable, long-term business success.
• As a Principal System Safety Engineer at Anduril, you are a company-wide technical authority on system safety. You set the safety philosophy, risk acceptance posture, and analytical standards that apply across every division, and you are the person leadership turns to when a safety question is consequential, contested, or without precedent.
• This role exists to make sure Anduril does not build systems it cannot certify, field, or defend. You will provide independent safety assessments of programs at any point in their lifecycle, carrying the same rigor a government weapon system safety review board would apply. You will engage programs early, before architecture is locked, so design decisions that are difficult to undo are caught while they are still cheap to change. And you will serve as a senior resource the company can deploy wherever deep system safety judgment is needed most.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Serve as a company-wide System Safety technical authority across all Anduril divisions, setting direction that spans Air Dominance & Strike, Maritime, Ground Systems, Space, Counter-UAS, and Autonomy/Lattice rather than a single program or product line
• Conduct independent, end-to-end safety assessments of any program at any lifecycle phase
• Deploy as a senior technical resource to programs across the portfolio, standing up a credible System Safety approach quickly and leaving behind a baseline the program team can sustain
• Prepare programs and their engineering teams for formal government safety certification
• Shape Anduril's enterprise technical risk posture by introducing the analytical models, hazard framing, and risk acceptance philosophy that leadership uses to make fielding, test, and investment decisions
• Pioneer analysis and verification approaches for emerging technology, including autonomous and AI/ML-enabled systems, where MIL-STD-882E and existing frameworks do not provide sufficient coverage
• Negotiate safety acceptance criteria, alternate means of compliance, and tailored standards with customers, service safety centers, and regulatory authorities on behalf of the company
• Drive System Safety philosophy, planning standards, and requirements practice across the enterprise, and influence customer and regulatory requirements for novel systems
• Grow Senior and Staff System Safety engineers into recognized experts and create the frameworks, mental models, and training for engineers across the company
• Represent Anduril externally as a thought leader in industry working groups, standards bodies, and customer safety forums

REQUIRED 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 the Weapon System Explosives Safety Review Board (WSESRB), Nonnuclear Munitions Safety Board (NNMSB), and Software System Safety Technical Review Panel (SSSTRP) including building the safety case, presenting it, and achieving board approval
• Deep experience with safety-critical hardware and software systems in the defense or aerospace industry, with a preference for Weapon Systems, Aircraft, UAS, Maritime, Space, Munitions and Energetics, or Rotorcraft
• Expert-level knowledge of MIL-STD-882E, including the judgment to tailor it credibly, and working familiarity with service-level system safety policy and the Joint Software Systems Safety Engineering Handbook (JSSSEH)
• Expert background in safety analysis techniques including FTA, FHA, SCFTA, and FMECA, with the judgment to know when each technique is the wrong tool for the problem
• Failure investigation and analysis experience with a proven track record of solving problems and preventing reoccurrence
• Extensive Design Review experience (PDR, CDR, MRR) and confident presentation skills across all levels of leadership, including executives, customers, and external safety authorities
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills and excellent communication skills, with the ability to build influence across organizations where you have no formal authority
• Willingness to travel between Anduril sites, customer locations, and test ranges to support programs across the portfolio
• Eligibility to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• M.S. or Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Systems Engineering, or equivalent technical discipline
• AI/ML and autonomy safety experience, including run-time assurance and the safety implications of DoD autonomous weapon system policy (strongly preferred)
• Experience with Relyence, Teamcenter, JIRA, JAMA, Cameo, and/or Ansys

US Salary Range

$253,000 — $336,000 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:

Benefits

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.

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