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

Anduril’s Tactical Recon & Strike (TRS) is a division with two missions: 1) build highly capable autonomous drones, and 2) build solid rocket motors at scale. We transform products like Ghost, Anvil, Bolt, and Altius from early concepts into fully operational capabilities by partnering closely with specialist engineering, operations, and production teams. Through our Anduril Rocket Motor Systems (RMS) team, we design and manufacture solid rocket motors using advanced materials, proprietary formulations, and high-volume production methods—delivering safe, reliable propulsion systems that support a wide range of mission requirements. TRS hires software engineers & hardware engineers, who are excited to build across a diverse and powerful portfolio—from autonomous aerial systems to high-performance solid rocket motors. Our teams contribute to highly capable autonomous robotics systems and propulsion products that operate reliably in the most demanding mission environment.

ABOUT THE JOB

Anduril is seeking a Mechanical Engineer, Lead to join the team at our Costa Mesa HQ. Here you will lead core product development for drones and complex systems, including but not limited to optical gimbals, batteries, mechanisms, structures, sensors and payloads. This role requires expert-level ownership of complete product integration and execution, with strategic influence across multiple teams and disciplines. The ideal candidate would be a technical leader who drives adoption of new methodologies, provides deep expertise, and sets the standard for technical excellence. High growth potential is possible as well as additional leadership opportunities.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

Own complete integration and execution of complex products and product families from concept to full rate production
Drive the work of technical teams through technical leadership, mentorship, and strategic direction
Drive overall goals for product success through leadership and direction across disciplines
Identify needs and gaps, then define best practices and standards and deploy those broadly across the organization
Lead design reviews and drive buy-in from cross-disciplinary partners, serving as a trusted advisor
Provide technical guidance and leadership to multi-disciplinary teams, shaping project direction and ensuring alignment with organizational goals
Perform advanced hand calculations and FEA to develop, assess, and optimize designs with engineering judgment appropriate to product maturity
Build prototypes, define and execute hardware test plans, iterate on designs, and produce authoritative technical documentation summarizing results
Perform root cause investigations for hardware failures and proactively identify and resolve conflicts in both technical and programmatic challenges
Balance operational needs across vehicle subsystems while optimizing for development speed, mass, manufacturability, cost, and long-term sustainment
Lead adoption of new tools, methodologies, and manufacturing methods for step-function improvements
Mentor engineers across teams and influence organizational technical strategy
Support critical hardware demonstrations with customers as needed
Travel to test sites and vendors as needed

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

7+ years of progressive mechanical/design experience, including 3+ years in technical leadership roles managing engineering teams
Demonstrated wholistic ownership of challenging technical problems and multiple complete products or product families from concept through production
Experience scaling and shipping complex products
Expert CAD skills with exceptional quality suitable as templates and training materials
Expertise in structures, thermal management, and mechanisms, with depth in electrical integration
Proven ability to set the standard for technical work within a group
Expert in standard manufacturing methods with capability to explore adjacent fields, including designing for manufacturability and scale
Strong engineering judgment to right-size solutions based on product maturity
Demonstrated ability to understand and communicate the full picture of technical value in terms of finance, impact, and position to the business
Excellence in delivering clear, complex ideas in writing and speech through polished technical documents, reports, and presentations
Proven track record of mentoring multiple teams and driving cross-functional initiatives
Ability to drive technical work through influence and leadership, with potential to transition into people management roles
BS or MS in Mechanical Engineering, or equivalent work experience

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

Expert proficiency in Solidworks or NX, and PLM systems
Mastery of GD&T application and ability to define standards for others
Deep expertise in multiple manufacturing methods: CNC machining, composites, sheet metal, injection molding, PCBA integration, with ability to lead adoption of new methods
Exceptional leadership and interpersonal skills with demonstrated ability to influence across the organization
Experience authoring responses to RFIs, proposals to customers and agencies, or white papers
Extensive experience running qualification campaigns for flight hardware
Expert-level experience designing for rugged environments
Strong understanding of electro-mechanical and electrical design concepts
Significant depth in one or two focus areas of Mechanical Engineering, building towards becoming an expert
Experience driving technological advancement towards future product families

US Salary Range

$191,000—$253,000 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.

Protecting Yourself from Recruitment Scams

Anduril is committed to maintaining the integrity of our Talent acquisition process and the security of our candidates. We've observed a rise in sophisticated phishing and fraudulent schemes where individuals impersonate Anduril representatives, luring job seekers with false interviews or job offers. These scammers often attempt to extract payment or sensitive personal information.

To ensure your safety and help you navigate your job search with confidence, please keep the following critical points in mind:

No Financial Requests: Anduril will never solicit payment or demand personal financial details (such as banking information, credit card numbers, or social security numbers) at any stage of our hiring process. Our legitimate recruitment is entirely free for candidates.
Please always verify communications:
- Direct from Anduril: If you receive an email from one of our recruiters, it will only come from an @anduril.com address.
- Via Agency Partner: If contacted by a recruiting agency for an Anduril role, their email will clearly identify their agency. If you suspect any suspicious activity, please verify the agency's authenticity by reaching out to [email protected].
Exercise Caution with Unsolicited Outreach: If you receive any communication that appears suspicious, contains grammatical errors, or makes unusual requests, do not engage. Always confirm the sender's email domain is @anduril.com before providing any personal information or clicking on links.
What to Do If You Suspect Fraud: Should you encounter any questionable or fraudulent outreach claiming to be from Anduril, please report it immediately to [email protected]. Your proactive caution is invaluable in protecting your personal information and upholding the security and trustworthiness of our recruitment efforts.

Data Privacy

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

Mechanical Engineer, Lead