Staff Fluids Systems Engineer, Omen

Anduril Industries; Costa Mesa (CA); On-site; USD 191,000 - 253,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive health benefits

Equity grants

Flexible working environment

Job summary

Anduril Industries is seeking a Staff Fluids Systems Engineer in Costa Mesa to lead fluid systems design for their Group 3 autonomous air vehicle. This role demands expertise in fluid mechanics, thermal management, and hands-on experience with systems integration.

With a competitive salary range of $191,000 to $253,000 USD, you’ll work in a dynamic environment focused on innovative military technology.

Qualifications

• A minimum of 8+ years in a technical engineering role focusing on aircraft or aerospace fluids systems.
• Strong technical knowledge in fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, heat transfer, and the design of aircraft fluids systems.
• Experience in an immersive technical project or similar professional settings.

Responsibilities

• Own and drive the design, development, and qualification of fluids systems on Group 3 autonomous air vehicle.
• Lead technical efforts to define system requirements and develop architectures.
• Collaborate with various teams to ensure integration of fluids systems.

Skills

Fluid mechanics

Thermodynamics

Heat transfer

CAD software proficiency

Hands-on experience

Education

BS or MS in mechanical, aerospace, or chemical engineering

Tools

Flowmaster

CFD software

Job description

Overview

Anduril Industries is a defense technology company with a mission to transform U.S. and allied military capabilities with advanced technology. Anduril is changing how military systems are designed, built and sold with Lattice OS, an AI-powered operating system that turns thousands of data streams into a realtime 3D command and control center. Anduril brings cutting-edge autonomy, AI, computer vision, sensor fusion, and networking technology to the military in months, not years.

About The Job

Anduril is seeking a Staff Fluids Systems Engineer to join the Omen Team at our Costa Mesa HQ. Omen is Anduril’s hover-to-cruise autonomous air vehicle (AAV) with the endurance, payload, and mission flexibility of larger airplanes in a Group 3 platform. Omen can operate from ship decks, beaches, or remote island clearings, providing true runway independence and freedom of maneuver across defense and civilian domains. Omen is the first tail-sitter aircraft with a mass-production contract, with an order of 50 systems representing a decisive investment that anchors production and accelerates the development of future systems. You will work on new aircraft development in a lean, high-ownership culture where you directly shape the product and operate at a velocity to fly new designs within months, not years.

About The Team

Here you will work on core product development for unmanned rotorcraft and complex systems, including but not limited to composites, mechanisms, structures and tooling. The ideal candidate would be practical, hands-on and a self-starter. High growth potential is possible as well as additional leadership opportunities.

What You’ll Do

Own and drive the design, development, and qualification of fluids systems on a Group 3 autonomous air vehicle, including fuel, hydraulics, thermal management, environmental control, and pneumatic systems, from concept through low rate initial production.

• Lead technical efforts to define system requirements, develop architectures, evaluate trade studies, and establish methodologies for analyzing, verifying, and validating fluids systems.
• Perform system-level analysis including pressure drop, flow distribution, thermal balance, transient response, water hammer, slosh, two-phase flow, and CFD as needed to support design decisions.
• Work in close partnership with propulsion, structures, electrical, avionics, controls, and software teams to ensure fluids systems integrate cleanly into a reliable, flexible, cost-effective vehicle.
• Specify, source, and qualify fluids components including pumps, valves, actuators, accumulators, heat exchangers, lines, fittings, seals, filters, and tanks.
• Spearhead design reviews, conduct hands-on rig and aircraft-level testing, visit vendors, and develop hardware test plans that validate performance across the flight envelope.
• Define and own fuel system architecture suitable for tail-sitter operation, including center-of-gravity management, vent and pressurization design, and unusable-fuel characterization across all attitudes.
• Support thermal management of propulsion, avionics, and payload heat loads under hover, transition, and cruise conditions.
• Actively contribute to the enhancement of team tools, templates, processes, and standards for fluids systems engineering.
• Cultivate a vibrant, positive, dedicated, high-energy, educational, and enjoyable community environment.
• Balance operational needs across vehicle subsystems while optimizing for development speed, mass, manufacturability, and cost.
• Support critical hardware demonstrations with customers as needed.
• Travel to test sites and vendors as needed.

Qualifications

• A minimum of 8+ years in a technical engineering role in a professional setting, with a focus on aircraft or aerospace fluids systems.
• Strong technical knowledge in fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, heat transfer, and the design, analysis, testing, and qualification of aircraft fluids systems.
• Deep understanding of fuel, hydraulic, thermal management, environmental control, and/or pneumatic system architectures and the trades between them.
• Hands-on experience designing, building, and testing fluids systems hardware, including component selection, plumbing routing, and integration into a flight vehicle.
• Experience in an immersive technical project (collegiate project teams or professional settings).
• Strong proficiency in CAD software (any platform, but NX preferred), with emphasis on plumbing, routing, and complex system installations.
• Proficiency with system-level fluids analysis tools (e.g., Flowmaster, AFT Fathom/Arrow, GT-SUITE, EASY5, Simulink/Simscape, or equivalent).
• Working knowledge of applicable airworthiness and aerospace standards (e.g., SAE AS, MIL-STD, AS9100) for fluids components and systems.
• BS or MS in mechanical, aerospace, or chemical engineering, or equivalent work experience.
• Demonstrated hands-on fabrication and test skills.
• Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. security clearance.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in NX/Teamcenter.
• Experience with clean sheet aircraft fluids system architecture and integration.
• Experience designing fuel systems for unconventional aircraft configurations (tail-sitter, VTOL, tilt-rotor, or other multi-attitude platforms).
• Experience with two-phase and pumped-loop thermal management systems for high-power-density electronics or propulsion.
• Experience qualifying fluids components to aerospace environmental and vibration standards (e.g., DO-160, MIL-STD-810, MIL-STD-704).
• Experience leading vendor development and qualification of fluids components.
• Experience with CFD (Star-CCM+, Fluent, OpenFOAM) applied to internal flows, sloshing, or thermal analysis.
• Familiarity with running system-level development and qualification testing on fluids rigs and integrated aircraft.

US Salary Range
$191,000—$253,000 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 experience, education and/or training, critical skills, and/or business considerations. Equity grants are included in many full-time offers and are part of Anduril\'s total compensation. Anduril offers comprehensive benefits for full-time employees, including health, recovery, and other programs.

For more information, explore our benefits. Protecting Yourself from Recruitment Scams: Anduril is committed to maintaining the integrity of our Talent acquisition process. We have observed phishing and fraudulent schemes where individuals impersonate Anduril representatives. Please refer to the following safety points when applying.

• No Financial Requests: Anduril will never solicit payment or demand personal financial details at any stage of our hiring process.
• Please verify communications: Direct from Anduril, communications will come from an @anduril.com address. If contacted by an agency, the email will clearly identify the agency and [e-mail] can be used to verify.
• Exercise caution with unsolicited outreach and unusual requests. Confirm the sender\'s email domain is @anduril.com before providing information.
• If you suspect fraud, report it to [e-mail].

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By submitting your application, you consent to Anduril using a third-party service provider to conduct pre-employment risk and due diligence screening as part of the application process. This provider may analyze sanctions and watchlists, adverse media, public records, and other sources. This provider does not act as a consumer reporting agency and helps ensure compliance, protection of technology, and organizational security.