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Chief Engineer - Air Dominance & Strike - Advanced Effects

Anduril Industries
Pay
$134,233 - $336,000/yr
Shift
Standard
Type
Full Time
Posted Feb 5, 2026
REINDUSTRIALIZE

Forge advanced aerial vehicles on Anduril Industries' cutting-edge shop floor in Los Angeles, California. Machine the intricate 6-axis components, wire the circuit boards with precision, and assemble load-bearing structures that meet exacting torque specs. Test each vehicle's performance to ensure flawless execution before deployment. This is where next-generation unmanned fighter jets and autonomous air vehicles get built.

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About This Role

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

The Air Dominance & Strike team at Anduril develops aerial and multi-domain robotic systems. The team is responsible for taking products like Fury (unmanned fighter jet), Roadrunner (reusable, vertical take-off and landing, operator-supervised Autonomous Air Vehicle), and Barracuda (air-breathing cruise missile) from concept to product. We are looking for engineers excited to build the foundational vehicle stack that supports the wide range of AD&S initiatives, from early concept simulation to first flight to live operations to large scale fleet management.

ABOUT THE JOB

You’ll own the technical development of large Aircraft from white paper sketches and conceptual design through detailed design, build, flight test and transition to production. This includes vehicle layout and conceptual design, airframe and propulsion system design and integration, guidance section development, payload and datalink integration, fabrication and flight test. These projects will be diverse in nature and require you to leverage your technical expertise as well as leadership skills to set objectives, build a team, and drive to completion. The ability to leverage your intuition and prior experience in programmatic level decision will play a key component in making sure the right design/analysis/ and test steps are being completed to ensure success without simply completing steps for the sake of the process that don’t add value. The ideal candidate will leverage their experience executing and successfully completing prior highly optimized multi-disciplinary projects.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

  • Lead technical and programmatic execution of new and existing air vehicle systems design, fabrication, test and productization.
  • Own the technical and programmatic success of your programs, establish technical and programmatic vision assemble teams of internal and external subject matter experts, and communicate that vision to them.
  • Set up trades to enable the exploration of early conceptual designs while working closely with technical SME’s and Business Development teams to find the right solution to current and future gaps in the DOD capability to ensure the warfighter has the best solution for current and future conflicts.
  • Manage the detailed design of the system and subsystems including requirements development, sub-system trades and optimization, risk management etc. to ensure the appropriate consideration of design key performance parameters, schedule, costs and risks.
  • Coordinate the fabrication of prototype and low-rate production articles and subsystem/system level test efforts.
  • Support remote deployed operations of your systems.
  • Work with senior leadership to ensure resource plans are adequate for work scope.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

  • Deep understanding of unmanned vehicles/robotics.
  • Experience in a senior role leading programs from initial concept through test and delivery to customers.
  • Strong understanding of the “why” behind Vehicle and Systems design.
  • Experience creating teams and focusing them around a common vision
  • Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical or Software engineering, or equivalent experience in a relevant field.
  • Experience troubleshooting and analyzing remotely deployed systems.
  • Travel 30% to Customer and Test Sites.
  • Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance.
US Salary Range
$254,000$336,000 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:

Healthcare Benefits

  • US Roles: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans at little to no cost to you.
  • UK & AUS Roles: We cover full cost of medical insurance premiums for you and your dependents.
  • IE Roles: We offer an annual contribution toward your private health insurance for you and your dependents.

Additional Benefits

  • Income Protection: Anduril covers life and disability insurance for all employees.
  • Generous time off: Highly competitive PTO plans with a holiday hiatus in December. Caregiver & Wellness Leave is available to care for family members, bond with a new baby, or address your own medical needs.
  • Family Planning & Parenting Support: Coverage for fertility treatments (e.g., IVF, preservation), adoption, and gestational carriers, along with resources to support you and your partner from planning to parenting.
  • Mental Health Resources: Access free mental health resources 24/7, including therapy and life coaching. Additional work-life services, such as legal and financial support, are also available.
  • Professional Development: Annual reimbursement for professional development
  • Commuter Benefits: Company-funded commuter benefits based on your region.
  • Relocation Assistance: Available depending on role eligibility.

Retirement Savings Plan

  • US Roles: Traditional 401(k), Roth, and after-tax (mega backdoor Roth) options.
  • UK & IE Roles: Pension plan with employer match.
  • AUS Roles: Superannuation plan.

The recruiter assigned to this role can share more information about the specific compensation and benefit details associated with this role during the hiring process.

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

Requirements

  • ABOUT THE JOB
  • WHAT YOU’LL DO
  • Lead technical and programmatic execution of new and existing air vehicle systems design, fabrication, test and productization.
  • Own the technical and programmatic success of your programs, establish technical and programmatic vision assemble teams of internal and external subject matter experts, and communicate that vision to them.
  • Set up trades to enable the exploration of early conceptual designs while working closely with technical SME’s and Business Development teams to find the right solution to current and future gaps in the DOD capability to ensure the warfighter has the best solution for current and future conflicts.
  • Manage the detailed design of the system and subsystems including requirements development, sub-system trades and optimization, risk management etc. to ensure the appropriate consideration of design key performance parameters, schedule, costs and risks.
  • Coordinate the fabrication of prototype and low-rate production articles and subsystem/system level test efforts.
  • Support remote deployed operations of your systems.
  • Work with senior leadership to ensure resource plans are adequate for work scope.
  • REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

About Anduril Industries

Transforming defense with advanced technology, autonomous systems, and AI.

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