Senior Systems Engineer - Mission Systems

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

Benefits offered by this job

Equity grants

Competitive benefits

Job summary

Anduril Industries in Costa Mesa, CA seeks a Senior Systems Engineer to advance Thunder Mission System design and integration. You will drive pragmatic systems engineering aligned with end-user needs, working in a lean, high-ownership culture to deliver rapid, robust capabilities.

The role requires 8+ years in defence/aerospace systems engineering, payload integration, and strong collaboration with design teams.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of industrial Systems Engineering experience in defence/aerospace requiring safety-critical hardware/software.
• Experience with payload integration, vehicle management systems, autonomy or GNC.
• Proven ability to solicit requirements from users and collaborate with design teams.
• Demonstrated ability to create and maintain engineering artefacts and test plans.

Responsibilities

• Lead agile Systems Engineering activities for Thunder Mission System and payloads.
• Support TPM evolution and conduct design reviews (PDR/CDR/TRR).
• Maintain SB S, PBS, and architecture diagrams; own ICDs and SDDs.
• Champion TEMP usage to mature mission systems; coordinate testing environments.
• Oversee change management processes and configuration control.
• Support safety and airworthiness activities and flight testing coordination.

Skills

Systems Engineering

Safety-critical hardware

Communication skills

Requirements elicitation

Education

BEng/BSc/MEng in aerospace, mechanical, electrical, CS, robotics, mechatronics

Tools

Jama

SysML v2

Requirements management

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 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

We are looking for a Senior Systems Engineer to join us in Costa Mesa, CA on Thunder. You will bring pragmatic systems engineering thinking to complement and enhance the overall mission system capability, ensuring end-user needs are met in challenging operational environments. You will be part of a lean, high-ownership culture where you directly shape the product and operate at a velocity to fly new designs within months, not years.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

• Execute a right-sized, Agile Systems Engineering approach as per the Systems Engineering Management Plan (SEMP) for development of the Thunder Mission System and Payloads at the speed of relevance
• Support design teams in the evolution and progress of Technical Performance Measures (TPMs) throughout the design process
• Contribute to System Design Reviews (SDR) and engineering governance structures such as Preliminary Design Reviews (PDR), Critical Design Reviews (CDR), Test Readiness Reviews (TRR), Safety Review Boards (SRB) representing the Systems Engineering discipline
• Own and maintain Functional Decomposition, System Breakdown Structure (SBS), Product Breakdown Structure (PBS), and Architecture diagrams
• Develop key Systems Engineering design artefacts including System Description Documents (SDDs) and Interface Control Documents (ICDs)
• Champion the use of the Test and Evaluation Master Plan (TEMP) to enable Mission System and Payload maturation
• Shape the design of representative Hardware In Lab (HIL) and Hardware In The Loop (HITL) physical integration environments, and input into surrogate testing
• Create issue board workflows and coordinate ticket triage, action assignment, artifact capture and closure
• Shape and coordinate configuration and change management processes
• Support wholistic Systems Safety and Airworthiness efforts
• Support build, ground and flight test of prototype and production representative Thunder Mission Systems with Physical Configuration Audits (PCA) and verification-related tasks

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• BEng/BSc/MEng in Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical, Computer Science, Robotics, Mechatronics, or a similar engineering field, or equivalent experience
• 8+ years industry Systems Engineering experience including safety-critical hardware and software systems in the Defence or Aerospace industries, specifically crewed aircraft, rotorcraft, EVTOL, UAS or weapon systems with a focus on Payload Integration, Vehicle Management Systems, GNC or Autonomy.
• Demonstrable Systems Engineering proficiency, including solicitation of requirements with the customer/end-user, collaboration with design teams
• Experience developing traditional and right-sized Systems Engineering artefacts, including pragmatic verification and validation plans
• Deep understanding of the test and evaluation process as applicable to developmental, acceptance and operational testing
• Experience with crewed or uncrewed developmental autonomous aircraft (Group 5 UAS or larger)
• Proficiency in coordinating change management processes
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills to include presentation of developed artefacts
• Eligible to obtain and maintain an active US Security Clearance

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience with open mission system architectures, for example PYRAMID, OMS/UCI, or STANAG 4586, and with modular open systems approaches more generally
• Experience with mission systems integration across multiple platforms, including abstraction layers or payload development kits intended for reuse
• Experience with SysML v2, and with requirements management tooling such as Jama, including automated generation of specification and traceability artefacts
• Working knowledge of UK export control and security regimes, including the UK Military List, SPIRE and OGELs, F680, and the handling of classified and OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE material
• Exposure to guidelines, standards and processes such as ARP-4754, ARP-4761, DO-178C, DO-254 desirable
• Experience with UK defence standards relevant to air systems and stores, for example Def Stan 00-970 and Def Stan 00-56
• Experience transitioning technology out of development and into a delivery programme or product line
• Familiarity with rigorous Systems Engineering approaches such as OOSEM
• Familiarity with reliability engineering, safety analysis, and failure mode analysis
• INCOSE Systems Engineering Professional certification

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.

Data Privacy

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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.