Senior Mechanical Engineer: Optical Payload, Space

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

Job summary

Anduril Industries seeks a senior mechanical/design engineer for space payloads. You will create opto-mechanical designs, perform analyses, and manage subsystem interfaces for on-orbit components, ranging from cameras to telescopes.

The role requires a BS+ in engineering with 5+ years of design experience, proficiency in CAD, and hands-on fabrication. Expect rigorous testing, geometry control, and collaboration across vendors and internal teams.

Qualifications

• BS or higher degree in engineering or hard science
• Ability to obtain and hold U.S. Top Secret security clearance
• 5+ years of mechanical design experience
• Experience with exotic opto-mechanical materials
• Experience with tolerance stack-ups, mechanical alignments, and qualification test campaigns
• CAD proficiency and ability to create engineering drawings meeting industry standards (GD&T)
• Hands-on fabrication and assembly skills with hand tools, mill, lathe, etc.
• Strong fundamentals in optics, heat transfer, statics, solid mechanics, and materials
• Excellent attention to detail, highly motivated, self-starting, and autonomous
• Organized with ability to define scope and requirements for ambiguous problems
• Experience with high-reliability design, athermalization, and vibration/shock resistance

Responsibilities

• Create opto-mechanical designs of space payloads ranging from small cameras to large telescopes
• Act as Responsible Engineer: conduct analyses, visit vendors and test sites, define and execute test plans, and manage subsystem interfaces
• Run finite element models and hand calculations to predict stresses in mechanical and optical components
• Contribute to STOP analyses to evaluate structural and thermal effects on optical performance
• Conduct hand calculations and run higher order thermal analyses to evaluate survival and operational on-orbit temperatures including solar loading effects through apertures and optics
• Design alignment features and conduct tolerance stack-ups enabling sub-arcsecond payload pointing and stability over large temperature ranges
• Own hardware design from concept to launch, intelligently pacing design maturity with a holistic program view
• Use first principles for every decision and continuously simplify designs
• Communicate pros/cons of system architectures with respect to mechanical design and packaging considerations
• Lead subsystem design reviews and provide clear status updates on timelines and technical progress
• Build prototypes, analyze failures, and transition successful designs to flight hardware and low-rate production
• Create excellent technical documentation (presentations, test plans/reports, procedures, drawings, specifications, etc.)
• Mentor junior engineers

Skills

Mechanical design

Security clearance

Opto-mechanical materials

Tolerance stack-ups

CAD/GD&T

Fabrication

Optics fundamentals

Heat transfer

Statics & materials

Problem scoping

High-rel design

Vibration/shock resistance

NX/Teamcenter

Programming (Python/MATLAB/C++)

Testing & data analysis

Education

BS or higher in engineering or hard science

Tools

None

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

Anduril’s Space team is dedicated to expanding our AI-powered capabilities into the final frontier, enhancing Space Domain Awareness, Space Control, and Command and Control for U.S. military and allied partners. We’re developing fully integrated hardware and software systems, including Lattice for Space Missions and modular payloads, to address growing threats in space and ensure our Guardians maintain a decisive advantage in this contested war-fighting domain.

WHAT YOU’LL DO?

• Create opto-mechanical designs of space payloads ranging from small cameras to large telescopes
• Act as Responsible Engineer: conduct analyses, visit vendors and test sites, define and execute test plans, and manage subsystem interfaces
• Run finite element models and hand calculations to predict stresses in mechanical and optical components
• Contribute to STOP analyses to evaluate structural and thermal effects on optical performance
• Conduct hand calculations and run higher order thermal analyses to evaluate survival and operational on-orbit temperatures including solar loading effects through apertures and optics
• Design alignment features and conduct tolerance stack-ups enabling sub-arcsecond payload pointing and stability over large temperature ranges
• Own hardware design from concept to launch, intelligently pacing design maturity with a holistic program view
• Use first principles for every decision and continuously simplify designs
• Communicate pros/cons of system architectures with respect to mechanical design and packaging considerations
• Lead subsystem design reviews and provide clear status updates on timelines and technical progress
• Build prototypes, analyze failures, and transition successful designs to flight hardware and low-rate production
• Create excellent technical documentation (presentations, test plans/reports, procedures, drawings, specifications, etc.)
• Mentor junior engineers

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• BS or higher degree in engineering or hard science
• Ability to obtain and hold U.S. Top Secret security clearance
• 5+ years of mechanical design experience and demonstrated track record of success
• Experience with exotic opto-mechanical materials (composites, titanium, beryllium, Invar, Zerodur, etc.)
• Experience with tolerance stack-ups, mechanical alignments, kinematic mounting, and qualification test campaigns
• CAD proficiency and ability to create engineering drawings meeting industry standards (GD&T)
• Hands-on fabrication and assembly skills with hand tools, mill, lathe, etc.
• Strong fundamentals in optics, heat transfer, statics, solid mechanics, and materials
• Excellent attention to detail, highly motivated, self-starting, and autonomous
• Organized with ability to define scope and requirements for ambiguous problems
• Experience with high-reliability design, athermalization, and vibration/shock resistance

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience in NX/Teamcenter
• Hands-on technical project experience (academic, extracurricular, or personal)
• Parallel industry experience
• Ability to integrate electronic components (PCBAs, motors, sensors) into mechanical designs
• Coding experience in Python, MATLAB, or C++ for analytical models and data acquisition/automation
• Structural or thermal testing experience including sensor selection, data acquisition, and post-processing (Python preferred)

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.