Senior Mechanical Engineer, Environmental Control Systems/HVAC

Slope; 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 the United States is seeking an experienced mechanical engineer to own environmental control systems end‑to‑end, from first‑principles sizing to field deployment. You will work in a small, focused team on TITAN and Menace I shelters, tackling vapor‑compression, CFD, and ruggedized packaging for extreme environments.

The role emphasizes deep ownership, collaboration with suppliers, rapid hardware iteration, and a clear technical roadmap for five years ahead, with field

Qualifications

• 7+ years of professional mechanical engineering experience, with a focus in HVAC, refrigeration, or environmental control unit design.
• Demonstrated experience in vapor‑compression system design (component selection, sizing, and integration of compressors, heat exchangers and coils, refrigerant circuits, and air‑moving equipment).
• Strong grounding in thermodynamics, heat transfer, and fluid dynamics.
• High competence with, and fluent use of, engineering first principles.
• Experience working with suppliers or vendors on hardware design and build.
• CAD skills (any platform) and the ability to produce high‑quality engineering drawings.
• BS, M.Eng, MS, or PhD in Mechanical Engineering or a related field.
• Must be a U.S. Person due to required access to U.S. export‑controlled information or facilities.

Responsibilities

• Own Hardware: Take environmental control systems from concept through real‑world use in the hands of warfighters.
• Drive the Supplier Relationship: Partner with HVAC/ECU supplier to specify, evaluate, and refine hardware for mission sets, driving requirements, reviewing designs, and making trade‑offs.
• Build the In‑House Capability: Establish the technical foundation and roadmap to bring HVAC/ECU design fully in‑house over time.
• Size for Extreme Environments: Apply thermodynamics, heat transfer, and psychrometrics to size systems for high‑ambient cooling, sub‑zero heating, and high‑latent‑load conditions.
• Optimize with Analysis: Use CFD and thermal analysis to evaluate and improve airflow, coil performance, condensation management, and packaging in rugged enclosures.
• Engineer for Survival: Ensure designs survive battlefield conditions (sand, salt air, shock and vibration, and transport).
• Get Hands‑On: Build and test prototypes and first articles yourself.
• Deliver at Scale: Iterate on designs and work with suppliers and manufacturing to deliver at volume.

Skills

HVAC design

Vapor‑compression

Thermodynamics

Fluid dynamics

Supplier management

CAD

Education

BS/MEng/MS/PhD in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

Siemens NX

Teamcenter

ANSYS Fluent/CFX

VapCyc

CoilDesigner

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

Connected Warfare is the team at Anduril dedicated to the modernization of the command-and-control systems of U.S. and Allied forces. New technologies and adversaries demand a novel approach to battlefield intelligence, and you will be the driving force behind the integration of cutting-edge edge computing technologies that make that a reality. Such systems inherently require both electrical and mechanical components and we are looking for highly skilled engineers to own the design of electromechanical subassemblies on these tightly integrated products. Your work will not only create new products but also help to change the balance of defense capabilities on a global scale.

ABOUT THE ROLE

We build shelters that go to the fight, and you\'ll own the systems that keep them livable and mission-capable when the environment is trying to shut them down. This is a rare seat: the chance to own an entire environmental control system end-to-end, from first-principles sizing calculations to the moment a soldier flips it on in the field, inside a small, tight-knit team that ships real hardware to real users. Our TITAN and Menace I shelters are examples of the command posts, operations centers, and living spaces that warfighters depend on in the harshest environments on earth, and the HVAC/ECU is what makes them habitable and lethal. You\'ll go deep on vapor-compression systems, psychrometrics, and CFD, and wide across supplier partnerships, hands-on prototyping, and field testing alongside the operators who use what you build. You\'ll also define the technical roadmap for what our ECUs look like five years from now. We move fast, we ship hardware, and we listen hard to the warfighter. If you\'ve spent your career wanting deeper ownership over the systems you design, and you want to point that expertise at something that matters, this is the seat for you. If you\'re starting to feel excited about this, we invite you to read further and learn more!

WHAT YOU\'LL DO

As the owner of our environmental control systems, you\'ll work across the full lifecycle, from first-principles analysis to hardware in the field. Your responsibilities will include:

• Own Hardware: Take environmental control systems from concept through real-world use in the hands of warfighters.
• Drive the Supplier Relationship: Partner closely with our HVAC/ECU supplier to specify, evaluate, and refine hardware for our mission sets, driving requirements, reviewing designs, and making component and integration trade-offs.
• Build the In-House Capability: Establish the technical foundation and roadmap to bring HVAC/ECU design fully in-house over time.
• Size for Extreme Environments: Apply thermodynamics, heat transfer, and psychrometrics from first principles to size systems for high-ambient cooling, sub-zero heating, and high-latent-load conditions.
• Optimize with Analysis: Use CFD and thermal analysis to evaluate and improve airflow, coil performance, condensation management, and packaging in tightly constrained, ruggedized enclosures.
• Engineer for Survival: Apply first principles, analysis, and testing to make sure designs survive battlefield conditions (blowing sand, salt air, shock and vibration, and air/land/sea transport).
• Get Hands-On: Build and test prototypes and first articles yourself.
• Deliver at Scale: Iterate on your designs and work with suppliers and our manufacturing team to build and deliver them at volume.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• 7+ years of professional mechanical engineering experience, with a focus in HVAC, refrigeration, or environmental control unit design.
• Demonstrated experience in vapor-compression system design (component selection, sizing, and integration of compressors, heat exchangers and coils, refrigerant circuits, and air-moving equipment).
• Strong grounding in thermodynamics, heat transfer, and fluid dynamics.
• High competence with, and fluent use of, engineering first principles.
• Experience working with suppliers or vendors on hardware design and build.
• CAD skills (any platform) and the ability to produce high-quality engineering drawings.
• BS, M.Eng, MS, or PhD in Mechanical Engineering or a related field.
• Must be a U.S. Person due to required access to U.S. export-controlled information or facilities.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience designing ruggedized, deployable, or mobile HVAC/ECU systems for extreme or military environments.
• Experience with VapCyc and CoilDesigner software.
• Hands-on CFD experience (ANSYS Fluent, CFX, or equivalent) for airflow and thermal optimization.
• Knowledge of static, dynamic, or thermal analysis methods and their use in ANSYS.
• Experience with refrigerant selection and compliance (e.g., low-GWP refrigerants and evolving regulations).
• Familiarity with HVAC and refrigeration standards and test methods (e.g., AHRI, ASHRAE).
• Experience transitioning a product from a supplier or contract manufacturer to in-house design and production.
• Experience with Siemens NX and Teamcenter.
• Active Top Secret security clearance (not required).

WHY YOU\'LL LOVE WORKING HERE

• Direct & Meaningful Impact: Your work keeps warfighters safe and effective in the harshest places on earth, on products of critical national importance.
• Real Ownership: Own an entire environmental control system end-to-end, with the latitude to shape both the current design and where it goes next.
• Build Something New: Stand up an in-house design capability from the ground up and set the technical roadmap for the next generation of our ECUs.
• Cutting-Edge Challenges: Solve hard thermal and packaging problems under constraints most HVAC engineers never face.
• Collaborative & Expert Team: Work alongside a small, sharp group of engineers who ship real hardware and share what they know.
• Professional Growth: Continuous learning, advanced professional development, and a clear path forward within a rapidly expanding company.

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:

Benefits

At Anduril, we invest in our people. Our comprehensive, competitive benefits package (available at little to no cost to employees) ensures you\u2019re supported in health, recovery, and whatever comes next.

For more information, Explore Our Benefits.

Data Privacy

To view Anduril\'s candidate data privacy policy, please visit https://anduril.com/applicant-privacy-notice/.

By submitting your application, you consent to Anduril Industries using a third-party service provider to conduct pre-employment risk, integrity, and due diligence screening and assessing potential risks as part of your application process. This third-party service provider provides risk-intelligence services that may include analysis of sanctions and watchlists, adverse media, public-record information, and other lawful open-source or commercial data sources. This third-party service provider does not act as a consumer reporting agency. Use of this provider helps to ensure compliance with applicable laws and protect technology, intellectual property, and organizational security.