Senior Mechanical Design Engineer, Thunder

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

Job summary

Anduril Industries in Costa Mesa is seeking a Senior Mechanical Design Engineer to join the Thunder team. You will aid packaging and integration of payloads into a rotorcraft architecture, handling high-density CAD and structural analysis.

You will own hardware from hand calculations to prototyping, qualification testing, and in-aircraft integration, collaborating with electrical and systems teams to deliver robust, flight-ready solutions.

Qualifications

• BEng/BSc/MEng/MSc in mechanical or aerospace engineering or equivalent experience.
• 7+ years in a professional aerospace engineering role with project delivery experience.
• Proficiency in NX/Teamcenter and CAD software for rapid concepting and iteration.
• Deep knowledge of mechanics, materials, design, analysis, testing, and fabrication.
• Strong understanding of load paths and hand calculations for robust assemblies.
• Excellent communication, reporting, and presentation skills.
• Eligible to obtain/maintain active U.S. security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Own and drive physical design of payload carriage and release from concept to low-rate production.
• Define requirements and evaluation methods for mechanical systems.
• Collaborate with electrical, actuation, and mechanical teams for integrated systems.
• Lead design reviews, perform analyses, build prototypes, and verify hardware test plans.
• Improve tools, templates, processes, and design standards.
• Foster a positive, collaborative team environment.
• Travel to test sites and vendors to support demonstrations and tests.

Skills

NX/Teamcenter

CAD modelling

Structural analysis

Hand calculations

Technical communication

Security clearance

Education

BEng/BSc/MEng/MSc in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering

Tools

NX/Teamcenter

CAD software

Job description

Senior Mechanical Design Engineer, Thunder

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 Maneuver Dominance team is building Thunder - an autonomous attack rotorcraft built to fight alongside crewed combat aviation to deliver overwhelming mass effects deep beyond the front lines. The team in London builds the Mission System and the autonomy that makes aircraft like Thunder work. Autonomy is only as good as the link that carries it. Thunder is a compact airframe with weapons, sensors and radios competing for the same antenna real estate, flying low and in formation, in a spectrum that is actively contested. That is the problem you would own.

ABOUT THE JOB

Anduril is seeking a Senior Mechanical Design Engineer to join the Thunder team in our Costa Mesa office. In this role, you will support the packaging and physical integration of complex, mission-critical payloads into a clean-sheet rotorcraft architecture. You will solve dense packaging puzzles under a variety of constraints without compromising flight performance. Your daily work will range from high-density CAD modeling and structural load analysis to designing robust brackets, thermal interfaces, and release mechanisms capable of surviving severe dynamic flight environments. You will own this hardware from first-principles hand calculations through rapid prototyping, qualification testing, and final on-aircraft integration.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

• Own and drive the physical design of the payload carriage and release for a novel aircraft type, overseeing the process from initial concept to low rate production.
• Define requirements, propose possible solutions, and establish a methodology for evaluating and verifying mechanical systems.
• Work in close partnership with other disciplines internal to Anduril to ensure the electrical, actuation, and mechanical systems collectively form a reliable, flexible, cost-effective system.
• Spearhead design reviews, conduct analysis, build prototypes and design and implement hardware test plans.
• Lead the enhancement of team tools, templates, processes, and standards.
• Cultivate a vibrant, positive, dedicated and educational collaborative work environment.
• Travel to test sites and vendors to support critical hardware demonstrations and development test activities as needed.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• BEng, BSc, MEng, MSc or higher in mechanical or aerospace engineering, or equivalent work experience.
• 7+ years in a technical engineering role in a professional aerospace setting, with demonstrated track record of successful stakeholder management, consensus building and successful project delivery.
• Experience in NX/Teamcenter and strong proficiency in CAD software with specific emphasis on rapid concepting and iteration of novel designs.
• Strong technical knowledge in core engineering principles, including fundamental mechanics of composite and metallic materials, design, analysis, testing, and fabrication.
• Deep understanding of load paths, design practices, and hand calculations to design robust structurally efficient assemblies.
• An excellent communicator, experienced in report writing and the development and delivery of presentations across a range of settings.
• Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. security clearance.

PREFERRED QUALIFICAIONS

• Experience with design and development of payload carriage and release systems.
• Experience in systems integration during airframe assembly, particularly focusing on mechanical systems.
• Experience in metrology verification methods and equipment used for aircraft assembly fixturing and part fabrication.
• Demonstrated passion for aviation, aerospace, and/or unmanned systems.
• Familiarity with running structural development testing.
• Outstanding leadership and interpersonal skills.

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: 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.

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

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.