Senior Explosives Safety Specialist - Rocket Motor Systems

ABOUT THE TEAM

Anduril's Lethality Engineering organization develops and tests advanced energetic systems that support critical defense capabilities. Working across engineering, manufacturing, test, and operations, our teams take complex hardware from early development through production.

Our Rocket Motor Systems operations are expanding, creating opportunities to develop the facilities, processes, and technical standards necessary to manufacture energetic materials safely and at scale.

We're building a safety capability that works directly alongside the teams doing the work—combining deep regulatory expertise with practical problem-solving to enable safe, efficient, and repeatable operations.

ABOUT THE JOB

We're looking for a Senior Explosives Safety Specialist to serve as the primary technical authority for explosives safety at our Rocket Motor Systems facility in McHenry, Mississippi.

This is a hands-on, site-embedded individual contributor role for someone who knows explosives-safety regulations in depth and understands how to apply them to real-world manufacturing, facility development, and operational challenges.
You'll independently develop explosives safety site plans, perform quantity-distance (Q-D) analyses, interpret complex regulatory requirements, and establish practical safety standards that support current operations and future growth.
Success requires more than identifying risks or explaining why something cannot be done. We need someone who can navigate complex requirements, collaborate with technical and operational stakeholders, and develop compliant solutions that allow critical work to move forward.

You'll also help establish repeatable processes and approaches that can inform explosives-safety practices across other Anduril facilities as we expand.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Own site-level explosives safety: Serve as the primary technical resource for explosives-safety questions, assessments, and regulatory interpretation at the McHenry Rocket Motor Systems facility.
• Lead explosives safety site planning: Independently develop and maintain explosives safety site plans (ESSPs), quantity-distance analyses, and facility siting assessments for new and existing operations, magazines, and infrastructure.
• Interpret and apply technical standards: Apply DoD 4145.26-series requirements, DESR 6055.09, relevant explosives-safety technical papers, and other applicable regulatory standards to operational and facility decisions.
• Develop practical safety solutions: Identify complex explosives-safety challenges, evaluate alternatives, and work with engineering and operations teams to implement technically sound, compliant solutions.
• Establish and improve operating standards: Develop and maintain explosives-safety procedures, operating limits, storage requirements, and technical guidance for energetic material manufacturing, handling, processing, transportation, and disposal.
• Support facility growth and modernization: Partner with manufacturing, facilities, and engineering teams on new facility siting, infrastructure modifications, expansion projects, and commissioning activities.
• Provide technical safety assessments: Lead or support process hazard analyses, process hazard reviews, hazard classifications, risk assessments, and reviews of operating procedures and safety documentation.
• Support risk-based decision-making: Provide defensible technical recommendations to leadership and appropriate approval authorities, including documentation of hazards, mitigations, and residual risks.
• Investigate and improve: Support investigations of energetic incidents, near misses, and process anomalies, identify contributing factors, and drive effective corrective actions.
• Build scalable practices: Develop repeatable, actionable explosives-safety processes that improve site operations and can be adapted to other Anduril facilities as the organization grows.
• Partner across the organization: Work directly with Rocket Motor Systems, Explosives Operations, Engineering, Manufacturing, EHS, and government or regulatory stakeholders to resolve safety issues and support program execution.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Materials Science, Explosives Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• 6 years of progressively responsible experience in explosives safety, energetic materials, ordnance safety, ammunition and explosives operations, or a closely related technical field.
• Demonstrated experience independently performing explosives-safety functions in a defense, government, manufacturing, or similarly regulated energetic-materials environment.
• Advanced working knowledge of DoD 4145.26-series explosives-safety requirements and DESR 6055.09, including the ability to independently interpret detailed regulatory provisions and apply them to complex technical and operational situations.
• Demonstrated experience preparing or leading quantity-distance analyses, explosives safety site plans, and explosives facility siting assessments.
• Experience developing, reviewing, or improving explosives operating procedures, technical safety standards, and risk-mitigation measures.
• Broad understanding of explosives-safety considerations across energetic material handling, processing, storage, transportation, manufacturing, or testing operations.
• Knowledge of applicable federal, state, and local explosives-safety requirements, including relevant OSHA process safety requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to resolve ambiguous technical or regulatory problems, develop actionable solutions, and influence stakeholders without direct management authority.
• Strong technical writing, documentation, and communication skills, including the ability to explain complex regulatory requirements to engineering, operations, and leadership teams.
• Ability to independently prioritize and execute complex assignments while maintaining rigorous safety and compliance standards.
• Willingness to travel up to 25%.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Top Secret security clearance.
• In this role, you will be subject to pre-employment and randomized substance screening, as required by the Company.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Direct experience supporting solid rocket motor, composite or double-base propellant, or other energetic-material manufacturing operations.
• Experience providing explosives-safety support for new facility construction, major facility expansion, commissioning, or modernization.
• Experience working with government explosives-safety authorities, customer review organizations, or regulatory agencies.
• Experience establishing or improving explosives-safety programs in growing or evolving manufacturing environments.
• Experience developing technical standards or safety practices that have been implemented across multiple facilities or operational teams.
• Familiarity with process hazard analysis, hazard classification, blast mitigation, protective construction, and magazine operations.
• Experience operating as a recognized explosives-safety subject matter expert or authority having jurisdiction within an organization.
• Active U.S. security clearance, including DoD Secret or Top Secret, or DOE L or Q access authorization.
• Familiarity with Jira, Microsoft Project, Confluence, or similar planning and collaboration tools.

US Salary Range 144000 - 192000 USD