Payloads Lead

andurilindustries

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

Posted Jun 30, 2026

Full-time
Maritime & Maneuver Dominance : Maneuver Dominance Engineering : MD - ME

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

Here you will work on core product development for rotorcraft and complex systems, including but not limited to avionics, batteries, mechanisms, structures, sensors and payloads. The role requires high ownership and frequent collaboration with other core disciplines. The ideal candidate would be practical, hands-on and a self starter.

ABOUT THE JOB

Anduril is seeking a Payloads Engineer to join the Maneuver Dominance team at our Costa Mesa HQ. The Maneuver Dominance (MD) Team at Anduril develops aerial robotic systems designed to operate in large coordinated teams in concert with ground maneuver forces. We leverage existing Anduril drone platforms like Ghost, Altius, or Roadrunner, in addition to bringing 3rd party platforms into Anduril’s Lattice ecosystem. We develop perception and autonomy algorithms to solve some of the hardest problems facing our customers.

As a Payload Engineer, you will lead/enable mechanical design, analysis and integration of Anduril payloads into host platforms. This is a unique opportunity to grow your expertise in one of the most challenging and differing engineering domains; large autonomous air vehicles. You will work closely with the program leadership and a wide spectrum of cross-departments as part of a team focused on solving hard problems and changing the industry forever.

WHAT YOU’LL DO:

Lead or support efforts performing integration, verification and/or validation of weapon systems on Anduril’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems platforms
Develop program plans, estimates, and schedules
Develop system/architecture designs, perform system level analysis, and generate requirements
Troubleshoot conflicting design/development requirements
Develop and present technical material for reviews and meetings
Support lab, ground, and flight test events
Develop/maintain Interface Control Documents, Software Requirement Specifications, Performance Specifications, presentations and review test plans/procedures
Coordinate and interface with customers, contractors, and engineering groups assigned to projects
Support ongoing operation of the weapons systems
Provide support for proposals/white papers for future efforts or capabilities
Provide direction to design and to technical staff

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree or PhD in engineering, computer science or a related technical discipline from an accredited institution and progressive engineering experience as follows; nine or more years of experience with a bachelor’s degree, seven or more years of experience with a master’s degree or five or more years with a PhD. May substitute equivalent engineering experience in lieu of education.
Software programming or embedded systems experience (familiarity with C++, MATLAB, Python, PERL scripting, etc.)
Familiarity with Air-to-Air weapons, MIL-STD-1553, and logical Interface Control Documents
Experience integrating weapons, payloads, or avionics onto aircraft
Experience with weapon or tactical datalinks
Must be customer focused with the ability to formulate and implement plans to resolve technical engineering problems
Ability to travel to support program and test events (up to 25%)
Must be eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. TS clearance

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

Experience in NX/Teamcenter
Experience in Solidworks
Experience designing mechanical parts and test equipment (CAD).
Understanding of manufacturing methods (machining, sheet metal, composites, 3D printing, injection molding, composite lamination, etc)
Experience developing subsystem layouts, performing architectural trade studies, and evaluating vendor performance data

US Salary Range

$132,000—$198,000 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 contact@anduril.com.
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 contact@anduril.com. 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/.

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.