Senior Manager, Test and Evaluation, Mission Systems

Visa Hunt; Costa Mesa (CA); On-site; USD 166,000 - 220,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive benefits

Job summary

Anduril Industries in Costa Mesa, CA, seeks a Senior Manager, Test & Evaluation to own T&E strategy and execution for a portfolio of Mission Systems sensor and payload programs.

You will lead a team of test engineers, run field campaigns at operational ranges, and ensure data quality as programs push to ship. Strong leadership, hands-on testing, and cross-functional collaboration are required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or advanced degree in EE, physics, aerospace, or a related technical field from an accredited institution.
• 10+ years in test engineering, systems T&E, integration & test, or flight test, with progressively increasing scope.
• 3+ years managing engineering teams, including hiring, performance management, and technical mentorship.
• Willingness to travel up to 50% during critical test phases.
• Possess a Top Secret US Security clearance, with eligibility for SCI access.
• Aptitude for leadership and desire to be a people leader first, manager second.
• Deep experience testing sensor or payload systems - EO/IR, radar, RF/EW, LADAR, or comparable.
• Experience producing or leading teams to produce customer facing test process deliverables (test plans, test reports, data analysis, etc.) and demonstrated maturity to articulate deliverable to a variety of stakeholders.
• Experience conducting safety planning or risk management.
• Hands'on with wiring diagrams, signal chains, networking basics, and HW-vs-SW failure isolation.
• Must be able to take guidance or intent and turn it into actionable results with a team.
• Must possess the ability to understand new concepts quickly and solve problems across a variety of engineering areas.
• Experience working with cross-functional engineering teams and external customers; demonstrated ability to collect differing opinions and reconcile them in order to achieve agreement on what 'right' looks like.
• Able to work extended hours on test sites or in support of testing as required.

Responsibilities

• Own all results of your team, both the good and the bad.
• Own T&E strategy and execution for a portfolio of Mission Systems sensor and payload programs.
• Lead by example and be willing to dive into technical work with your team and perform IC tasks when required.
• Define the roadmap, resources, and technical approach — and provide clear situation reports to leadership.
• Lead a team of T&E engineers – hire, mentor, and set the technical bar for sensor testing at Anduril.
• Build test plans that answer real engineering questions: sensor performance envelopes, environmental sensitivities, integration failure modes, and mission-representative scenarios.
• Run field campaigns at internal and external test ranges; own safety case, risk mitigation, data collection, and post-test analysis.
• Manage budgets, lab and shop resources, and project timelines across multiple parallel test efforts.
• Evolve your team’s structure to match T&E engineering needs and business lines.
• Partner with product line leadership and stakeholders to phase T&E into schedules with agile, safety-compliant governance.
• Drive the test data pipeline and ensure findings reach engineering fast.
• Represent T&E in reviews, TRB/SRBs, and customer test events.
• Accountable for administrative requirements for team members.

Skills

Test & Evaluation

Leadership

Sensor testing

Field campaigns

Budget management

Cross-functional collaboration

Wiring diagrams basics

Education

EE/Physics/Aerospace degree

Tools

C++

Python

MATLAB

Linux (Ubuntu/Debian)

Test equipment experience

Networking basics

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 Mission Systems Test & Evaluation team owns the characterization, integration testing, and field validation of Anduril's sensor and payload portfolio - the systems that shape how every Anduril product perceives and acts on the battlespace. We answer the questions that decide whether a sensor is ready to ship: what does it actually see, where does it break, and how does it behave when integrated with the rest of the mission system.

ABOUT THE JOB

The Mission Systems T&E team is scaling to match the growth of Anduril's sensor and payload programs. We're looking for a Senior Manager, Test & Evaluation to join our team in Costa Mesa, CA. In this role, you will own the T&E strategy and execution for a portfolio of Mission Systems sensor and payload programs. You will lead a team of test engineers, run field campaigns at operationally representative ranges, and hold the technical bar for data quality when programs are pushing to ship. This will require deep sensor test experience, the judgment to prioritize the tests that actually reduce risk, and the leadership to grow a team that can operate across multiple sensor modalities. If you have run test campaigns on payload‑class systems in austere environments and want to build the T&E function for one of the most active sensor portfolios in defense, this role is for you.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Own all results of your team, both the good and the bad.
• Own T&E strategy and execution for a portfolio of Mission Systems sensor and payload programs
• Lead by example. Be willing to dive into the technical work with you team and complete individual contributor work when required.
• Define the roadmap, resources, and technical approach — and provide clear situation reports and resource requests to leadership.
• Lead a team of T&E engineers – hire, mentor, and set the technical bar for how sensor testing is done at Anduril, fostering a culture of high performance, continuous learning, and rapid iteration.
• Build test plans that answer real engineering questions: sensor performance envelopes, environmental sensitivities, integration failure modes, and mission-representative scenarios.
• Run field campaigns at internal and external test ranges. Own the safety case, risk mitigation posture, data collection plan, and post-test analysis — collaborating closely with range safety officers and regulatory teams.
• Manage budgets, lab and shop resources, and project timelines across multiple parallel test efforts.
• Manage and evolve your teams organizational structure to match both T&E engineering needs and the needs of your business lines
• Partner with product line leadership, program managers, design teams, and cross-functional stakeholders to phase T&E into schedules without becoming the bottleneck. Champion an agile, low-bureaucracy approach that adheres to essential safety and regulatory requirements.
• Drive the test data pipeline — what gets captured, how it's processed, and how findings get back to engineering fast enough to matter.
• Represent T&E in program reviews, TRB/SRBs, and customer test events.
• Accountable for all administrative requirements for the members of your team (time cards, finance approvals, PTO, etc).

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's or advanced degree in EE, physics, aerospace, or a related technical field from an accredited institution.
• 10+ years in test engineering, systems T&E, integration & test, or flight test, with progressively increasing scope
• 3+ years managing engineering teams, including hiring, performance management, and technical mentorship
• Willingness to travel up to 50% during critical test phases
• Possess a Top Secret US Security clearance, with eligibility for SCI access
• Aptitude for leadership and desire to be a people leader first, manager second.
• Deep experience testing sensor or payload systems - EO/IR, radar, RF/EW, LADAR, or comparable
• Experience producing or leading teams to produce customer facing test process deliverables (test plans, test reports, data analysis, etc.) and demonstrated maturity to articulate deliverable to a variety of stakeholders.
• Experience conducting safety planning or risk management
• Hands'on with wiring diagrams, signal chains, networking basics, and HW-vs-SW failure isolation
• Must be able to take guidance or intent and turn it into actionable results with a team
• Must possess the ability to understand new concepts quickly and solve problems across a variety of engineering areas
• Experience working with cross-functional engineering teams and external customers; demonstrated ability to collect differing opinions and reconcile them in order to achieve agreement on what 'right' looks like.
• Able to work extended hours on test sites or in support of testing as required.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Leadership training (Education, employer provided, or self-study).
• Prior sensor T&E experience at a defense prime, DoD lab, or defense startup.
• Background across two or more sensor modalities (e.g., EO/IR plus radar, or LADAR plus RF)
• Experience with the Department of War or Government Agencies
• Experience working with FAA and/or FCC compliance requirements
• Experience with EW system, Imaging system, or Battle Space Management systems design and employment
• Experience and working knowledge of radio frequency theory and/or communication physics
• Experience and working knowledge of networking (TCP/IP, routing, switching) and/or various communication protocols (Bluetooth, Wi--Fi, LAN, WAN, etc.)
• Experience and working knowledge of a programing language (C++, Python, MATLAB, etc)
• Experience utilizing a Linux Operating System (Ubuntu, Debian, etc) or using Command Line Interface with another operating system

US Salary Range: $166,000 – $220,000 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.