Anduril Industries
Chief Engineer, Autonomous Airpower
About this role
Lead the technical and programmatic development of advanced unmanned aircraft systems from concept through production and field operations at a defense technology company. This role combines hands-on engineering expertise with leadership of multi-disciplinary teams to deliver mission-critical autonomous air vehicles for DOD customers.
What you'll do
- Own technical and programmatic execution of air vehicle design, fabrication, testing, and sustainment across full lifecycle
- Establish technical vision, assemble expert teams, and drive program success from concept through customer delivery
- Conduct design trades and optimization studies for subsystems while balancing performance, schedule, cost, and risk
- Coordinate prototype fabrication and system-level testing efforts with internal and external partners
- Support deployed operations of fielded systems and troubleshoot issues in operational environments
- Collaborate with leadership on resource planning and alignment of technical objectives with business outcomes
What they're looking for
- Unmanned aircraft systems design and development (Group 3 and above)
- Program leadership and multi-disciplinary team management
- Systems engineering and requirements development
- Airframe, propulsion, and payload integration
- Flight test and prototype development
- DOD program execution and stakeholder management
- Technical problem-solving and design optimization
- Aerospace, mechanical, electrical, or software engineering expertise
Benefits
- Salary range: $254,000–$336,000 USD
- Highly competitive equity grants
- Top-tier benefits for full-time employees
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Anduril Industries
Anduril Industries builds autonomous defense systems including underwater vehicles, unmanned aircraft, and electronic warfare platforms for the Department of Defense. The company is hiring across mechanical engineering, mission operations, software development, technical leadership, and advanced manufacturing roles to support the design, deployment, and production of these mission-critical systems.
- Website
- anduril.com
Likely interview questions
- Walk us through a large unmanned aircraft program you led from concept through flight test and delivery. What were the key technical and programmatic decisions that determined success?
- Describe your experience with Group 3 or larger unmanned aircraft systems. What design challenges specific to this class have you solved, and how did you approach airframe-propulsion integration?