Senior Body Mechanical Engineer

Anduril; Costa Mesa (CA); On-site; USD 146,000 - 194,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity grants

Comprehensive benefits

Job summary

Anduril Industries’ Maritime Division seeks an experienced Body Subsystem Lead for a maritime autonomous vehicle. You’ll define architecture for hull, propulsion, buoyancy, and actuation, and lead cross-functional teams through design, analysis, and testing to production.

You will drive trade studies, manage budgets/schedules, and mentor engineers while interfacing with other system leads to ensure seamless integration. A U.S. Secret clearance is required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Naval Architecture, Aerospace Engineering, or equivalent.
• 7+ years of experience in mechanical or structural design for marine, aerospace, or robotic systems.
• Experience taking mechanical or structural systems through full product development cycles.
• Demonstrated experience with structural analysis, hydrodynamics, or propulsion system design.
• Experience transitioning designs from prototype to production.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Secret security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Own the Body subsystem architecture: structure, propulsion, buoyancy, actuation, and mechanical interoperability.
• Drive structural analysis and design of the vehicle hull and primary structure for full-ocean-depth operation.
• Drive propulsion system design including thrusters, fairings, and hydrodynamic optimization.
• Own buoyancy and trim system design, both passive and active.
• Develop actuation and control hardware for vehicle maneuvering.
• Define mechanical interfaces between body subsystem and other vehicle systems (energy, cognitive, payloads).
• Manage subsystem schedule and cost performance across prototype, LRIP, and FRP phases.
• Provide technical mentorship to engineers across body subsystem disciplines.
• Drive design-for-manufacturability in coordination with Production.
• Represent the body subsystem in technical and customer meetings.
• Interface with Vehicle Systems Lead and Chief Engineer on technical decisions.
• Travel up to 25% to test sites and customer locations

Skills

Mechanical design

Naval architecture

Aerospace/robotic systems

Structural analysis

Hydrodynamics

Propulsion design

Security clearance

FEA/CFD tools

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Naval Architecture, Aerospace Engineering, or equivalent

Tools

FEA

CFD

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 is 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 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 this is the moment to join us.

ABOUT THE JOB

You will own the Body subsystem for a maritime autonomous vehicle, owning structural, hydrodynamic, propulsion, buoyancy, and actuation design from concept through production. Reporting to the Vehicle Systems Lead, you will set architecture for the hull structure, propulsion systems, buoyancy and trim systems, and actuation mechanisms. You will drive trade studies, manage subsystem budgets and schedules, and interface with other system leads on integration.
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 the Body subsystem architecture: structure, propulsion, buoyancy, actuation, and mechanical interoperability
• Drive structural analysis and design of the vehicle hull and primary structure for full-ocean-depth operation
• Drive propulsion system design including thrusters, fairings, and hydrodynamic optimization
• Own buoyancy and trim system design, both passive and active
• Develop actuation and control hardware for vehicle maneuvering
• Define mechanical interfaces between body subsystem and other vehicle systems (energy, cognitive, payloads)
• Manage subsystem schedule and cost performance across prototype, LRIP, and FRP phases
• Provide technical mentorship to engineers across body subsystem disciplines
• Drive design-for-manufacturability in coordination with Production
• Represent the body subsystem in technical and customer meetings
• Interface with Vehicle Systems Lead and Chief Engineer on technical decisions
• Travel up to 25% to test sites and customer locations

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Naval Architecture, Aerospace Engineering, or equivalent
• 7+ years of experience in mechanical or structural design for marine, aerospace, or robotic systems
• Experience taking mechanical or structural systems through full product development cycles
• Demonstrated experience with structural analysis, hydrodynamics, or propulsion system design
• Experience transitioning designs from prototype to production
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Secret security clearance

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience with autonomous underwater or surface vehicles
• Working knowledge of naval architecture principles (stability, buoyancy, resistance)
• Experience with composite structures, pressure vessels, or marine materials
• Familiarity with FEA and CFD tools
• Experience in defense or maritime robotics

US Salary Range

$146,000—$194,000 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:

• 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.

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