Senior Configuration Design Engineer

Anduril-1; Costa Mesa (CA); On-site; USD 146,000 - 194,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity grants

Top-tier benefits

Job summary

Anduril Industries in Costa Mesa, CA, seeks a Senior Configuration Design Engineer for the Air Dominance & Strike hardware team. You will own the architectural configuration for Group 5 UAS and missile programs, guide engineering processes, and mentor junior engineers.

You will partner with Chief Engineers and customers to translate mission requirements into buildable aircraft architectures, lead trade studies, and ensure LO shaping, propulsion integration, and mass properties are optimized.

Qualifications

• BS in Aerospace, Mechanical Engineering, or related technical field.
• 8+ years of experience in conceptual or preliminary design of aerospace systems.
• Expert-level proficiency in 3D parametric CAD modeling, advanced surfacing, and lofting (Siemens NX preferred, CATIA, or Creo).
• Extensive experience leading multi-disciplinary design teams and trade studies (aerodynamics, structures, propulsion, mass properties, and systems integration).
• Deep understanding of system architecture, mission requirements, and full product development lifecycles.
• Strong communication and presentation skills, with a proven ability to write technical proposals and present design solutions to leadership and customers.
• Must be eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. Secret Security Clearance.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end conceptual design for complex UAV and missile platforms.
• Define and mature aircraft sizing methodologies using parametric modeling and design optimization tools.
• Drive the design of Outer Mold Lines (OML) and Inner Mold Lines (IML) for downstream analysis.
• Serve as the main technical decision-maker for early-stage pursuits and customer proposals.
• Evaluate configuration alternatives for LO survivability, propulsion integration, and structural feasibility.
• Manage high-level vehicle trade studies including engine selection, control effector layout, fuel systems, weapons integration, and mass properties.
• Mentor junior configuration and design engineers, setting CAD/GD&T and design release standards.
• Interface with IPTs, suppliers, and military customers to present concepts and resolve issues.

Skills

3D CAD modeling

Systems engineering leadership

Technical proposal writing

Presentation skills

Clearance eligibility

Education

Bachelor of Science in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering

Advanced degree (MS/PhD)

Tools

Siemens NX

CATIA

Creo

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 JOB

We are seeking a Senior Configuration Design Engineer for our Air Dominance & Strike hardware engineering organization. As a Senior Engineer, you will own the architectural configuration, scoping, and optimization methodology for our advanced Group 5 Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and missile programs. You will serve as a technical leader, defining engineering processes, mentoring junior engineers, and directly partnering with Chief Engineers and customers to translate complex mission requirements into revolutionary, buildable aircraft architectures.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

• Lead the end-to-end conceptual design process for complex UAV and missile platforms, including configuration trade studies, mission analysis, and architecture selection.
• Define and mature aircraft sizing methodologies, deploying parametric modeling and design optimization tools (such as MATLAB, Isight, HEEDS, and NX Unigraphics) to establish robust design paths.
• Drive the design of Outer Mold Lines (OML) and Inner Mold Lines (IML), establishing the geometric standards for downstream analysis teams (CFD, FEA, CEM).
• Serve as the main technical decision-maker for early-stage pursuits, shaping concept white papers, customer proposals, and technology roadmaps in partnership with Chief Engineers.
• Apply engineering intuition and expertise to evaluate configuration alternatives for low-observable (RF/IR signature) survivability, propulsion integration, and structural feasibility.
• Manage high-level vehicle trade studies including engine selection, control effector layout, fuel systems, weapons integration, and mass properties.
• Mentor and develop junior configuration and design engineers, establishing standards for CAD modeling, geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T), and design release.
• Interface directly with integrated product teams (IPTs), suppliers, and military customers to present configuration concepts and resolve challenging design problems.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace, Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 8+ years of experience in conceptual or preliminary design of aerospace systems, with a track record of technical leadership on UAS, military aircraft, or advanced missile programs.
• Expert-level proficiency in 3D parametric CAD modeling, advanced surfacing, and lofting (Siemens NX preferred, CATIA, or Creo).
• Extensive experience leading multi-disciplinary design teams and trade studies (aerodynamics, structures, propulsion, mass properties, and systems integration).
• Deep understanding of system architecture, mission requirements, and full product development lifecycles.
• Strong communication and presentation skills, with a proven ability to write technical proposals and present design solutions to leadership and customers.
• Must be eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. Secret Security Clearance.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Advanced degree (MS/PhD) in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering.
• Expert knowledge in design-for-survivability, low-observable (LO) shaping, and RF/IR signature reduction.
• Advanced experience in building surrogate models, optimization workflows, or leveraging machine learning tools to accelerate conceptual design cycles.
• Experience with rapid prototyping, flight testing, and hardware-in-the-loop development environments.
• Active U.S. Secret or Top Secret Security Clearance.

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:

Anduril offers top-tier benefits for full-time employees, including: For more information, Explore Our Benefits .