Senior Warhead Design Engineer - Lethality Team

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

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive equity grants

Top-tier benefits package

Support in health and recovery

Job summary

Anduril Industries in Costa Mesa, CA is hiring a Warhead Design Engineer. This role focuses on the design and testing of ordnance and munitions systems. Candidates should have a degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering and 2–5+ years of relevant experience. Responsibilities include prototype development, project planning, and collaborating across teams. The role offers a competitive salary range of $166,000–$220,000 and top-tier benefits.

Qualifications

• 2–5+ years of experience as an individual contributing engineer focused on mechanical design.
• Experience creating complex mechanical designs using CAD tools.
• Eligibility to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Top Secret security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Design warheads and munitions systems from prototype to production.
• Create prototype parts and assess performance through testing.
• Support various testing phases and analyze results to inform design.

Skills

Mechanical design

Data analysis

CAD tools (SolidWorks or NX)

Testing and project coordination

Ability to travel

Education

BS or higher degree in mechanical, aerospace, or other engineering discipline

Tools

SolidWorks

NX

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 Job

We are building a hiring Warhead Design Engineers to support multiple roles across Anduril’s Lethality Team. Depending on background and team fit, candidates may support workstreams focused on warhead design, mechanical design and integration, modeling and simulation, test engineering, systems safety, or prototype‑to‑production execution. This role is a strong fit for engineers who want to work on technically demanding systems where mechanical design, test data, explosive effects, safety, manufacturability, and mission outcomes all matter. The work is hands‑on, fast‑moving, and highly cross‑functional.

What You’ll Do

• Design warheads and complex ordnance / munitions systems and help transition them from prototype to production.
• Create high‑fidelity prototype parts and assemblies to assess performance through testing.
• Support arena, ground, flight, and system‑level testing of munitions products.
• Contribute to project planning, test planning, design‑of‑experiments, safety coordination, and execution.
• Capture test video, compile data, review test outputs, and analyze results to inform design decisions.
• Develop mechanical designs, drawings, specifications, test procedures, technical reports, and supporting engineering documentation.
• Partner with analysis, test, safety, manufacturing, vehicle integration, and operations teams to solve complex engineering problems.
• Work with vendors, suppliers, and subcontractors supporting critical design, prototype, test, or production efforts.
• Support the assembly and disassembly of explosive test articles and precision targets.
• Apply strong mechanical engineering fundamentals to systems where performance, reliability, manufacturability, and safety all matter.
• Operate in a fast‑paced environment where engineers are expected to learn quickly, take ownership, and execute with urgency.
• In this role, you will help:
  • Design and mature advanced warhead, ordnance, and munitions systems.
  • Translate mission requirements into practical engineering solutions.
  • Move rapidly from concept to prototype to test‑informed design iteration.
  • Support live testing, data capture, analysis, and performance validation.
  • Partner across mechanical engineering, test, safety, manufacturing, operations, analysis, suppliers, and product teams.
  • Help transition complex explosive systems from development into production.
  • Strengthen Anduril’s ability to deliver advanced effects capabilities across multiple platforms.

Required Qualifications

• BS or higher degree in mechanical, aerospace, or another engineering discipline.
• 2–5+ years’ work experience as an individual contributing engineer, focused on mechanical design, analysis, and testing of naval ordnance/munitions systems.
• Experience creating complex mechanical designs using CAD tools such as SolidWorks or NX.
• Test experience including data acquisition, data analysis, and project coordination.
• Ability to travel as required for testing (surges up to 25%).
• Experience preparing engineering documentation (specifications, test procedures, technical reports, drawings, etc.).
• Passion for defending the United States and her allies.
• Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Top Secret security clearance.

Preferred Qualifications

• Active U.S. security clearance (DoD Secret or Top‑Secret or DOE L or Q).
• Expert level experience creating complex mechanical designs specific to ordnance/munitions.
• Experience with munitions testing.
• Prior experience in explosive operations and/or handling munitions.
• Experience with the DoD Weapons Safety Boards.
• Experience designing and scaling production of mechanical components at volume.
• Experience developing or testing complex electrical or mechatronics systems.

US Salary Range

$166,000–$220,000 USD

Benefits

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.