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Anduril

Builds autonomous weapons for the US and allies

Staff Systems Engineer - Software Defined Weapons Optic

Engineering LeadershipConfirmed live in the last 24 hours
Full-timeCosta Mesa, CA, USA

About the Job

Requirements

  • A bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, Robotics, Aerospace Engineering, Physics, or another technical discipline.
  • At least 8 years of systems engineering experience, preferably in rapid product development environments.
  • A track record of delivering complex multi-domain electro-mechanical systems, ideally spanning optics, sensors, actuators, embedded compute, and software.
  • Experience leading cross-functional teams to deliver against aggressive schedules.
  • Hands-on prototyping, troubleshooting, and integration experience, including work across CAD, lab benches, and field tests.
  • Experience owning verification and validation across the full product lifecycle, including environmental qualification for shock, vibration, thermal conditions, and sealing.
  • Demonstrated willingness to challenge the status quo and develop first-principles solutions.
  • Strong technical intuition and communication skills.
  • Ability to make decisions with imperfect information and adapt as new data emerges.
  • Experience with modern systems engineering tools and methodologies, including Model-Based Systems Engineering, requirements management, and digital engineering.
  • Must be a U.S. Person due to required access to U.S. export-controlled information or facilities.

Responsibilities

  • Serve as the technical authority across optics, computer vision, electro-mechanical actuation, laser subsystems, embedded compute, and counter-UAS effector integration, translating mission-level outcomes into coherent system architectures.
  • Lead cross-functional integration between mechanical, electrical, firmware, computer vision, and manufacturing teams to transform separate components into a cohesive anti-UAV system.
  • Reimagine system requirements through first-principles thinking and challenge traditional counter-UAS approaches to create more robust, adaptable solutions.
  • Identify critical warfighter needs and translate them into technical specifications that outperform legacy counter-UAS and air defense systems.
  • Create systems architecture diagrams bridging mechanical, electrical, optical, and software interfaces and aligning cross-domain teams on a single source of truth.
  • Own critical product decisions and balance technical tradeoffs among accuracy, latency, power, size, weight, and ruggedization while maintaining system integrity.
  • Define and manage the system-level error budget, allocating contributions across optics, mechanical tolerances, calibration, computer vision algorithms, and actuator control to meet first-round-hit accuracy requirements against airborne threats.
  • Lead design reviews to ensure rigor from requirements definition through verification and validation.
  • Own the technical risk management process and ensure systems meet military standards for shock, vibration, environmental conditions, and electromagnetic interference without sacrificing innovation.
  • Identify and eliminate development bottlenecks to enable faster delivery of capabilities.
  • Own verification and validation plans and execution, including laboratory, benchtop, and live-engagement test campaigns against representative unmanned aerial system threats.
  • Use systems engineering tools, including Flow, Jama, Cameo, Model-Based Systems Engineering, and digital twins, to visualize architectures and model system performance.
  • Create technical narratives that communicate complex ideas to engineers, leadership, program stakeholders, and end users.
  • Build the digital backbone to enable rapid iteration and continuous improvement of DEADSHOT and follow-on products.
  • Create user documentation that enables warfighters to operate and sustain the product autonomously in the field.
  • Travel to field exercises and customer events to teach users how to operate the product and bring their feedback back to drive stronger technical designs.
  • Support live-engagement assessments and operational evaluations alongside end users.

Desired Qualifications

  • Experience with counter-UAS systems, air defense, precision tracking, fire control, or kinetic effector systems.
  • Multi-domain product experience spanning electro-optics, lasers, actuators or servo control, or stabilized platforms.
  • Background in robotics or autonomous systems, such as Boston Dynamics, automotive autonomous vehicles, or industrial robotics.
  • Familiarity with computer vision pipelines, including detection, tracking, calibration, and pose estimation, and their integration into embedded platforms.
  • Experience with embedded compute platforms such as Qualcomm Snapdragon and NVIDIA Jetson, and the size, weight, and power tradeoffs they impose.
  • Experience with system error budgeting across optical, mechanical, and algorithmic contributors.
  • Experience bridging prototype-to-production transitions, including design for manufacturing, design for assembly, and medium-volume manufacturing of hundreds to thousands of units.
  • Prior experience as a technical subject matter expert or integrated product team lead on a complex Department of Defense program.
  • Active Department of Defense security clearance at Secret level or above, or ability to obtain one.

About the Company

Anduril

Builds autonomous weapons for the US and allies

Anduril builds autonomous weapons, such as drones, cruise missiles, and robot submarines, for the US military and its allies, often developing them with its own money before any order arrives. In 2024 it beat Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman for an Air Force contract to develop Fury, a pilotless jet that flies alongside crewed fighters. Its Lattice software merges camera and radar feeds into one live map and lets a few operators direct many drones and weapons at once, including other companies' systems. Governments buy its systems under contract, and Anduril builds much of the hardware in its own factories. Oculus founder Palmer Luckey co-founded Anduril in 2017, and it is based in Costa Mesa, California.

Company size
10,001+
Company stage
Private
Total funding
$11.5B
Headquarters
Costa Mesa, CA
Founded
2017

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