Senior Propulsion & Hydrodynamics Engineer

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

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive benefits package

Highly competitive equity grants

Job summary

Anduril Industries is seeking a technical leader for propulsion design of a maritime autonomous vehicle. The role involves thruster design, hydrodynamic analysis, and ensuring project success through teamwork and technical expertise.

The ideal candidate will have a Bachelor’s degree in Naval Architecture or related field, with over 5 years in marine propulsion. The position offers a competitive salary ranging from $166,000 to $220,000, alongside comprehensive benefits for full-time employees.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in relevant field.
• 5+ years of experience in marine propulsion or hydrodynamics.
• Experience with CFD tools and hydrodynamic modeling.

Responsibilities

• Drive propulsion system design, including thruster selection.
• Conduct hydrodynamic design and analysis.
• Lead trade studies on speed and endurance.

Skills

Marine propulsion

Hydrodynamics

CFD tools

Electric thruster systems

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Naval Architecture, Ocean Engineering, or Mechanical Engineering

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 Maritime Division is responsible for planning and executing Anduril’s product and revenue roadmap for maritime missions. Working across product, engineering, business development, logistics, and operations, the Maritime team develops, tests, deploys, and sustains the Anduril maritime capabilities in a challenging operational environment worldwide. As a leader in the Maritime Division, you must be a technical leader with the expertise to evaluate, qualify, manage, and advocate for an increasing number of sophisticated parallel pursuits. This role is crucial in ensuring that each initiative aligns with the company’s strategic direction and receives the appropriate resourcing, balancing innovation with practical execution to drive the business line’s success.

About the Job

You will own propulsion and hydrodynamic design for a maritime autonomous vehicle. Reporting to the Vehicle Systems Lead, you will lead thruster design and selection, hydrodynamic analysis, fairing optimization, and propulsive efficiency trades that directly determine vehicle range and endurance. Your spectrum of support will be diverse in nature and require you to leverage your technical expertise as well as leadership skills to set objectives, build cross‑functional teams, and rapidly drive to completion. The ability to leverage your intuition and prior experience will be key in making sure the right design, analysis, and test steps are completed to ensure success. The ideal candidate will leverage their experience executing and successfully completing prior highly optimized multi‑disciplinary projects.

What You’ll Do

• Drive propulsion system design including thruster selection, integration, and performance
• Drive hydrodynamic analysis: drag estimation, resistance prediction, and flow characterization
• Drive fairing geometry design and hydrodynamic optimization
• Define propulsion power requirements and coordinate with Energy Systems on power budget
• Lead trade studies balancing speed, endurance, noise, and propulsive efficiency
• Coordinate with thruster and fairing teams
• Support prototype testing including sea trials
• Contribute to design‑for‑manufacturability reviews
• Travel up to 25% to test sites and vendor facilities

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Naval Architecture, Ocean Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or equivalent
• 5+ years of experience in marine propulsion, hydrodynamics, or vehicle performance analysis
• Experience with CFD tools and hydrodynamic modeling
• Familiarity with electric thruster systems or marine propulsion drives
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Secret security clearance

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with AUV or UUV propulsion systems
• Working knowledge of propeller or thruster design and optimization
• Experience with propulsion testing
• Familiarity with acoustic signature management
• Experience in defense or maritime robotics

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.