Staff Development Engineer

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

Benefits offered by this job

Top-tier benefits

Job summary

Anduril Industries seeks a Staff Development Engineer to join the Internal Capabilities Development (ICD) team in Costa Mesa, CA. This hands-on technical leadership role drives large-scale test capabilities from concept to commissioned hardware, while building a team and scalable processes.

You will own mechanical design, fabrication drawings, and integration of PLC controls, LabVIEW/NI DAQ, and instrumentation.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering (Electrical or Aerospace also considered).
• 8+ years hands-on experience designing and building test equipment or complex electromechanical systems.
• 2+ years leading or mentoring engineers or technicians (2–5).
• Expert mechanical design and CAD proficiency with fabrication drawings and GD&T.
• Hands-on fabrication experience: welding, CNC machining, 3D printing, and assembly.
• Experience designing and integrating hydraulic and/or pneumatic systems.
• Working knowledge of PLC controls, NI DAQ/LabVIEW, electrical enclosures, instrumentation.
• Own ambiguous problems end-to-end and deliver hardware with minimal oversight.
• Experience establishing or improving engineering processes in a fast-paced environment.
• Eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. Security Clearance.

Responsibilities

• Lead development of large-scale test capabilities from requirements and concept through fabrication and commissioning.
• Own mechanical design and CAD for custom test equipment, including subsystems.
• Produce fabrication-ready drawing packages and work with machine shops.
• Perform and oversee fabrication work: laser cutting, waterjet, welding, machining, assembly.
• Lead and mentor a 2–5 person team of engineers, technicians, and interns.
• Triage capability requests, set priorities, escalate only critical decisions.
• Standardize ICD processes: intake, design reviews, build procedures, documentation.
• Oversee PLC controls integration, LabVIEW/NI DAQ, instrumentation, electrical enclosures.
• Lead build-vs-buy analyses and advocate for internal builds when beneficial.
• Partner with ETC and product teams; support design and test readiness reviews.
• Promote safety culture and maintain capital equipment.
• Travel to test sites and remote labs as needed.

Skills

Mechanical design

Leadership

CAD proficiency

Fabrication experience

Hydraulic/pneumatic systems

PLC controls / NI DAQ

End-to-end ownership

Engineering processes

Security clearance eligible

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Electrical or Aerospace background considered

Tools

SolidWorks

NX

GD&T

LabVIEW/NI DAQ

Job description

About the Team

Enterprise Test Capabilities (ETC) develops, operates, and scales the shared physical test infrastructure, technical expertise, and execution systems required to validate Anduril's products across the company. The team provides specialized testing that is capital-intensive, technically complex, safety-critical, or broadly reusable across multiple programs, spanning environmental testing (thermal, vibration, shock, HALT, TVAC), battery testing (cell/module/pack characterization, abuse testing, BMS validation), propulsion testing (engine test cells, thrust/torque measurement, fuel/feed systems), aerodynamic testing (wind tunnel operations, flow visualization, force/moment measurement), and structural testing. We partner with product test teams from early development through qualification and sustainment to identify technical risk, select appropriate test methods, execute testing safely, and generate trusted engineering evidence. The test operations team within ETC owns the lab facilities, equipment fleet, calibration program, and operational support team that keeps this diverse test enterprise running.

About the Job

We are seeking a Staff Development Engineer to join the Internal Capabilities Development (ICD) team within ETC in Costa Mesa, CA. This is a hands‑on technical leadership role for an engineer who can take a large‑scale test capability from concept to commissioned hardware while building the team and processes that let ICD scale. You will design and build equipment to MIL-STD-810H requirements (thermal chambers, static‑fire stands, load systems, environmental chambers, and more), owning the mechanical design, fabrication packages, structural and hydraulic considerations, electrical integration, and controls/DAQ that make these systems work.

This role is primarily mechanical, though strong candidates from Electrical or Aerospace backgrounds with solid mechanical design, machining, assembly, and fabrication fundamentals will be considered. You are equally comfortable producing a fabrication drawing package for our machine shop (or external shop) and working hands‑on with laser cutting, waterjet, welding, and assembly on the floor. You will lead a small team of engineers, technicians, and interns (2–5 people), take ambiguous capability needs and run with them, and escalon only critical decisions. You will also bring structure to how ICD works by standardizing intake, design reviews, documentation, and build processes as the team grows.

What you’ll do

• Lead development of large‑scale test capabilities from requirements and concept through overseeing fabrication, hands‑on assembly work, commissioning equipment, and handoff to Development Teams
• Own mechanical design and CAD for custom test equipment, including structural, thermal/environmental, and hydraulic/pneumatic subsystems, designed to MIL-STD-810H test methods
• Produce fabrication‑ready drawing packages (GD&T, weldments, sheet metal, machined parts) and work directly with our in‑house machine/fabrication shop
• Personally perform and oversee fabrication work, including laser cutting, waterjet, welding, machining, and assembly
• Lead, mentor, and set technical direction for a team of 2–5 engineers, technicians, and interns
• Triage incoming capability requests, set priorities, and escalon only critical decisions to leadership
• Establish and standardize ICD processes, including request intake, design reviews, build procedures, documentation, and handoff criteria
• Oversee integration of PLC controls, LabVIEW/NI DAQ, instrumentation, and electrical enclosures across builds
• Lead build‑vs‑buy assessments and make the case for internal builds where ICD can beat vendor cost and timeline
• Partner with ETC and product teams as the capability‑development subject matter expert, and support design and test readiness reviews on feasibility, risk, and safety
• Drive safety culture across lab and build spaces, and ensure proper maintenance of capital equipment
• Travel to test sites and remote labs as needed to support builds, field testing, or capability standup

Required qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering (Electrical or Aerospace Engineering also considered)
• 8+ years of hands‑on experience designing and building test equipment or complex electromechanical systems
• 2+ years leading or mentoring engineers or technicians (formal or informal), ideally teams of 2–5
• Expert mechanical design and CAD proficiency (SolidWorks, NX, or equivalent), including fabrication drawings and GD&T
• Basic hands‑on fabrication experience, including any of the following: welding, cnc machining or 3D printing, and assembly
  • Ability to delegate to technicians and correct drawing callouts for machine shop to perform: welding, bending, laser cutting, waterjet, machining, and assembly
• Experience designing and integrating hydraulic and/or pneumatic systems
• Working knowledge of PLC controls, NI DAQ/LabVIEW, electrical enclosures, and instrumentation, sufficient to design, integrate, and direct others
• Demonstrated ability to own ambiguous problems end‑to‑end and deliver working hardware with minimal oversight
• Experience establishing or improving engineering processes in a fast‑paced, high‑mix environment
• Eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. Security Clearance

Preferred qualifications

• Experience building large‑scale environmental test equipment to MIL-STD-810H (thermal, salt fog, sand & dust, vibration, etc.)
• Experience with static‑fire stands, dynamometers, or thrust/torque measurement systems
• Pressure‑vessel design or testing experience (ASME BPVC, proof/burst)
• Structural analysis/FEA experience for test fixtures and load frames
• Closed‑loop servo‑hydraulic control experience (MTS, Instron, or equivalent)
• HMI or SCADA development for custom equipment
• Measurement uncertainty analysis and GR&R experience
• Experience with defense or aerospace test programs

US Salary Range

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

To view Anduril’s candidate data privacy policy, please visit https://anduril.com/applicant-privacy-notice/.

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.