Air Vehicle Lead, Advanced Effects

andurilindustries

Costa Mesa, California, United States · Costa Mesa · United States

Posted Aug 18, 2026

Full-time
Air Dominance & Strike : Air Dominance & Strike Hardware

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 TEAM

We are looking for an Air Vehicle Lead to join our rapidly growing Air Dominance and Strike team in Costa Mesa, CA. In this role, you will be responsible for the mechanical development of new autonomous missile systems. This will require strong understanding and experience developing advanced air vehicles from concept to delivery. If you are someone who thrives in a fast moving environment and you have experience driving design solutions then this role is for you.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

Lead the mechanical development of new autonomous air vehicles, from initial system layout and conceptual design through detail design, fabrication, and flight test
Derive and shape requirements both internally and externally
Drive system architecture and design solutions in order to meet performance, rate, and cost requirements
Hands-on development of aircraft, airframe, and subsystem detailed design, analysis, fabrication, and assembly
Lead design reviews, present to customers, visit vendors, help define and execute test plans
Build prototypes, analyze failures, and transition successful projects into production
Travel to test sites and support customer discussions as needed
Provide individual contributions in addition to technical leadership and oversight for a team of 10 to 25 multidisciplinary engineers

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

BS in aerospace, mechanical engineering, or related field
8+ years of aerospace experience in a professional setting
Working knowledge of MIL standards and industry best practices
Strong understanding and experience developing air vehicle conceptual designs and transitioning them to flying and deployable systems
Familiarity with key aircraft subsystems and their development methods, including aero-performance, stability and control, structures, mechanisms, avionics, propulsion, fuel systems, thermodynamics, electrical integration, etc.
Experience creating, organizing, and managing complex vehicle development designs in CAD
Experience developing and using aircraft sizing tools
Experience with prototype and production airframe manufacturing methods including composites and metallics
Demonstrate leadership skills to manage scope and schedules, deconflict issues, communicate up and down the chain, maximize teamwork and collaboration in a dynamic environment.
Must possess and be able to maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

MS in aerospace, mechanical engineering or related field
Working knowledge of NX/Teamcenter
Experience with air launched expendable systems
Experience with air breathing high sub-sonic or super sonic expendable systems
Experience with liquid or solid rocket motors on expendable systems
Hands on manufacturing or fabrication experience
Familiarity with low observable design principles
Experience with surfacing and OML loft modeling
Competency in engineering analysis, including aerodynamics, structural, thermal, and electrical

US Salary Range

$175,000—$205,000 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.

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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.