Mechanical Engineer, Lead

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 Anduril’s Tactical Recon & Strike (TRS) is a division with two missions: 1) build highly capable autonomous drones, and 2) build solid rocket motors at scale. We transform products like Ghost, Anvil, Bolt, and Altius from early concepts into fully operational capabilities by partnering closely with specialist engineering, operations, and production teams. Through our Anduril Rocket Motor Systems (RMS) team, we design and manufacture solid rocket motors using advanced materials, proprietary formulations, and high-volume production methods—delivering safe, reliable propulsion systems that support a wide range of mission requirements. TRS hires software engineers & hardware engineers, who are excited to build across a diverse and powerful portfolio—from autonomous aerial systems to high-performance solid rocket motors. Our teams contribute to highly capable autonomous robotics systems and propulsion products that operate reliably in the most demanding mission environment. ABOUT THE JOB Anduril is seeking a Mechanical Engineer, Lead to join the team at our Costa Mesa HQ. Here you will lead core product development for drones and complex systems, including but not limited to optical gimbals, batteries, mechanisms, structures, sensors and payloads. This role requires expert-level ownership of complete product integration and execution, with strategic influence across multiple teams and disciplines. The ideal candidate would be a technical leader who drives adoption of new methodologies, provides deep expertise, and sets the standard for technical excellence. High growth potential is possible as well as additional leadership opportunities. WHAT YOU’LL DO Own complete integration and execution of complex products and product families from concept to full rate production Drive the work of technical teams through technical leadership, mentorship, and strategic direction Drive overall goals for product success through leadership and direction across disciplines Identify needs and gaps, then define best practices and standards and deploy those broadly across the organization Lead design reviews and drive buy-in from cross-disciplinary partners, serving as a trusted advisor Provide technical guidance and leadership to multi-disciplinary teams, shaping project direction and ensuring alignment with organizational goals Perform advanced hand calculations and FEA to develop, assess, and optimize designs with engineering judgment appropriate to product maturity Build prototypes, define and execute hardware test plans, iterate on designs, and produce authoritative technical documentation summarizing results Perform root cause investigations for hardware failures and proactively identify and resolve conflicts in both technical and programmatic challenges Balance operational needs across vehicle subsystems while optimizing for development speed, mass, manufacturability, cost, and long-term sustainment Lead adoption of new tools, methodologies, and manufacturing methods for step-function improvements Mentor engineers across teams and influence organizational technical strategy Support critical hardware demonstrations with customers as needed Travel to test sites and vendors as needed REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS 7+ years of progressive mechanical/design experience, including 3+ years in technical leadership roles managing engineering teams Demonstrated wholistic ownership of challenging technical problems and multiple complete products or product families from concept through production Experience scaling and shipping complex products Expert CAD skills with exceptional quality suitable as templates and training materials Expertise in structures, thermal management, and mechanisms, with depth in electrical integration Proven ability to set the standard for technical work within a group Expert in standard manufacturing methods with capability to explore adjacent fields, including designing for manufacturability and scale Strong engineering judgment to right-size solutions based on product maturity Demonstrated ability to understand and communicate the full picture of technical value in terms of finance, impact, and position to the business Excellence in delivering clear, complex ideas in writing and speech through polished technical documents, reports, and presentations Proven track record of mentoring multiple teams and driving cross-functional initiatives Ability to drive technical work through influence and leadership, with potential to transition into people management roles BS or MS in Mechanical Engineering, or equivalent work experience PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS Expert proficiency in Solidworks or NX, and PLM systems Mastery of GD&T application and ability to define standards for others Deep expertise in multiple manufacturing methods: CNC machining, composites, sheet metal, injection molding, PCBA integration, with ability to lead adoption of new methods Exceptional leadership and interpersonal skills with demonstrated ability to influence across the organization Experience authoring responses to RFIs, proposals to customers and agencies, or white papers Extensive experience running qualification campaigns for flight hardware Expert-level experience designing for rugged environmen