Payload Mechanical Engineer

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 Maritime Division is transforming American sea power to meet the defining national security challenges of our era and secure our future of maritime dominance.

We are scaling at an historic pace, anchored by Arsenal-2, our new software-defined shipyard being built in Baltimore County, Maryland. It's part of a new $6.6 billion investment in America's submarine industrial base.

Arsenal-2 is purpose-built to break long-standing industrial bottlenecks and scale production of critical components for the Navy's Virginia-class attack submarines to support fleet requirements. At the same time, it will build the industrial muscle to field our next-generation AUVs at scale.

We aren't waiting for the new shipyard to be completed. The work on this transformation starts right now, with development inside our new 160,000 square foot Proto-Factory in Orange County, California, where the team is already laying the foundation. As the prototyping hub for Arsenal-2, this facility gives us a multi-year head start, proving out the advanced manufacturing methods, digital workflows, and quality systems that will scale across our broader shipyard network.

In Anduril's Maritime Division, we are actively building America's next decisive advantage at sea—and this is the moment to join us.

ABOUT THE JOB

You will own mechanical design for payloads carried by a maritime autonomous vehicle. Reporting to the Payload Lead, you will design payload housings, mounting structures, and the mechanical interfaces that let Anduril and third-party payloads integrate into the vehicle — pressure-rated, volume-constrained, and swappable in the field. Payload bays are among the most contested real estate on the vehicle, and this role owns making them work.

Your spectrum of support will be diverse in nature and require you to leverage your technical expertise as well as leadership skills to set objectives, build cross-functional teams, and rapidly drive to completion. The ability to leverage your intuition and prior experience will be key in making sure the right design, analysis, and test steps are completed to ensure success. The ideal candidate will leverage their experience executing and successfully completing prior highly optimized multi-disciplinary projects.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Own mechanical design of payload housings, enclosures, and mounting structures.
• Design pressure-rated payload containment and penetrations for full-depth operation.
• Define modular mechanical interfaces that enable rapid payload swap in the field.
• Manage volume, mass, and center-of-gravity budgets for payload installations.
• Perform structural and pressure analysis on payload assemblies.
• Produce drawings, tolerance stackups, and interface control documents for payload hardware.
• Partner with Payload Electrical, Vehicle Interoperability, and Buoyancy & Trim on integration constraints.
• Support prototype builds, integration testing, and at-sea validation.
• Travel up to 25% to test sites and supplier facilities.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent.
• 5+ years of mechanical design experience on hardware that was built and deployed.
• Strong CAD proficiency and drawing release experience with GD&T.
• Experience designing sealed, pressure-rated, or environmentally protected enclosures.
• Working knowledge of structural analysis and hand calculations for load paths.
• Experience managing mass, volume, and CG budgets under tight constraints.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Secret security clearance.
• Experience with subsea, marine, or deep-submergence mechanical design.
• Familiarity with underwater connectors, penetrators, and pressure housings.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience with subsea, marine, or deep-submergence mechanical design.
• Familiarity with underwater connectors, penetrators, and pressure housings.
• Experience with modular or field-swappable hardware interfaces.
• Background in payload integration for aircraft, spacecraft, or unmanned vehicles.
• Experience in defense programs or third-party hardware integration.

US Salary Range

$166,000—$220,000 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:

Benefits

At Anduril, we invest in our people. Our comprehensive, competitive benefits package (available at little to no cost to employees) ensures you’re supported in health, recovery, and whatever comes next. For more information, Explore Our Benefits.

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