Senior Forward Deployed Software Engineer, Strategic Defense

Anduril-1; Costa Mesa (CA); On-site; USD 191,000 - 253,000; Full time

Job summary

Anduril Industries is seeking a Senior Forward Deployed Software Engineer to deploy and support products globally, starting early in their lifecycle and collaborating with engineering to iteratively improve them. You will coach teammates on systems and guide customers through product use and troubleshooting.

The role emphasizes ownership of technical solutions, teaching, and working across AI-native autonomous defense platforms with a focus on mission-critical software in dynamic environments.

Qualifications

• Experience with Go, Rust or Python programming languages.
• Frontend experience with React or Angular.
• Experience building data-heavy software solutions.
• Ability to navigate complex systems and large codebases.
• Willingness to travel up to 50% of the year, including Asia Pacific regions.

Responsibilities

• Provide field support and training for military air defense projects.
• Resolve complex hardware, software, and networking issues in unstructured environments.
• Communicate field status to internal and customer teams.
• Develop and implement operational/logistical plans for events.
• Ensure high availability and performance of air defense systems.
• Maintain hardware/software support plans.
• Assist in event planning and resource allocation for Technical Operations.
• Conduct RCAs and implement preventive measures after incidents.
• Share recommendations for product refinement with engineering teams.

Skills

Go

Rust

Python

React

Angular

Data processing

Systems thinking

Travel

Education

B.S. in computer science

Tools

Kubernetes

Job description

Senior Forward Deployed Software Engineer, Strategic Defense

Costa Mesa, California, United States; Washington, District of Columbia, United States

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 Strategic Defense team at Anduril is at the forefront of incubating and maturing AI-native offerings for the integrated air and missile defense domain. We're the architects of mission autonomy and resilient mesh architectures, delivering scalable software solutions that meet some of the most urgent national security needs. By working hand-in-hand with elite teams in AI, Edge Hardware, Space Solutions, Networking, and Test Engineering we craft cutting-edge, end-to-end systems that redefine mission success for major strategic capabilities.

ABOUT THE JOB

Anduril’s Strategic Defense business line is seeking a Forward Deployed Software Engineer to join our team.

You will be responsible for deploying and supporting Anduril’s products all over the world. You will go forward with products early on in their lifecycle and work with engineering teams to iteratively improve them over time. The challenges you will encounter are innumerable and unpredictable, but you will be expected to take ownership of delivering the technical solution.

You must be both a teacher and a student, able to coach teammates on systems that you’ve gained intimate familiarity with and then transition into mastering the next system. You’ll also guide users through product employment and troubleshooting, advise account managers on how to structure an operation to ensure technical success, and communicate specific recommendations for product refinement to engineering teams.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Support military air defense projects by executing technical operations, conducting field maintenance, providing customer field support and training
• Tackle complex issues related to hardware, software, and networking in unstructured situations, driving them to resolution
• Communicate field issue status to internal and customer teams, keeping them informed.
• Support the development and implementation of comprehensive operational and logistical plans for various events
• Ensure high availability and performance of air defense systems
• Maintain support plans for hardware and software
• Assist in event planning and resource allocation, keeping key stakeholders informed about Technical Operations requirements
• Incident response root‑cause analyses (RCAs) for defense systems in the field
• Conduct post‑incident reviews and implement preventive measures

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Ability to travel to Asia Pacific region for up to one months at a time (up to 50% of the year)
• Strong engineering background from industry or school, ideally in areas/fields such as Computer Science, Software Engineering, Mathematics, or Physics
• Experience working with a variety of programming languages such as Go, Rust, or Python
• Experience working with frontend frameworks such as React or Angular
• Experience building software solutions involving significant amounts of data processing and analysis
• Ability to quickly understand and navigate complex systems and established code bases
• A desire to work on critical software that has a real‑world impact

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• 5+ years of experience of strong problem solving in unstructured environments at the interface of hardware, software, and networking
• Fluent in Mandarin
• B.S. in computer science, or related technical field
• Network+ and Linux+ or equivalent experience preferredPrior military or overseas contracting experience
• Experience with Kubernetes

US Salary Range

$191,000 - $253,000 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 .

CLEARANCE ELIGIBILITY - This position requires eligibility to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance.

EXPORT CONTROLS - This position requires access to information and technology that is subject to U.S. export controls.

As set forth in Anduril Industries’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service‑connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three‑year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.