Space Opto-Mechanical Engineer: Lead Payload Design

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

Job summary

Anduril Industries in Costa Mesa, CA is seeking a senior Mechanical Design Engineer to own hardware design from concept to flight. You will create opto‑mechanical payloads, lead tolerance stack‑ups, and define test plans that validate performance in space environments.

Join a Space team building Lattice for Space Missions, applying first‑principles thinking, mentoring junior engineers, and delivering reliable, high‑precision mechanisms for extreme temperatures and radiation.

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 (composites, titanium, beryllium, Invar, Zerodur).
• Experience with tolerance stack-ups, alignments and qualification tests.
• CAD proficiency and ability to create engineering drawings meeting industry standards (GD&T).
• Hands-on fabrication and assembly skills.
• Strong fundamentals in optics, heat transfer, statics, solid mechanics, and materials.
• Ability to work independently and define scope for ambiguous problems.
• Experience with high‑reliability design and vibration/shock resistance.

Responsibilities

• Create opto-mechanical designs of space payloads from small cameras to large telescopes.
• Act as Responsible Engineer: analyze, test plans, vendor visits, test execution, and subsystem interfaces.
• Run finite element models and hand calculations to predict stresses.
• Conduct STOP analyses to evaluate optical performance.
• Perform thermal analyses for on-orbit temperatures and solar loading effects.
• Design alignment features and tolerances for sub-arcsecond pointing and stability.
• Own hardware design from concept to launch with a program-wide view.
• Use first principles for decisions and simplify designs.
• Communicate tradeoffs of architectures relating to mechanical design and packaging.
• Lead subsystem design reviews and provide status updates.
• Build prototypes, analyze failures, and transition to flight hardware.
• Create technical documentation including drawings and specifications.
• Mentor junior engineers.

Skills

Opto-mechanical design

Mechanical design

Tolerance analysis

CAD proficiency

First principles thinking

Documentation

Mentoring

Autonomy

Strong fundamentals in optics

Space payload integration

Education

BS or higher in engineering or hard science

Tools

NX/Teamcenter

Job description

Anduril Industries in Costa Mesa, CA is seeking a senior Mechanical Design Engineer to own hardware design from concept to flight. You will create opto‑mechanical payloads, lead tolerance stack‑ups, and define test plans that validate performance in space environments.

Join a Space team building Lattice for Space Missions, applying first‑principles thinking, mentoring junior engineers, and delivering reliable, high‑precision mechanisms for extreme temperatures and radiation.