Air Vehicle Lead

About the role

Anduril Industries is a defense technology company dedicated to transforming military capabilities through advanced technology. We bring the expertise, technology, and business model of 21st-century innovators to the defense industry, focusing on autonomy, AI, computer vision, sensor fusion, and networking.

About the team

You will work on core product development for rotorcraft and complex systems, including avionics, batteries, mechanisms, structures, sensors, and payloads. The role requires high ownership and frequent collaboration with other core disciplines. The ideal candidate should be practical, hands-on, and a self-starter.

ABOUT THE JOB

Anduril is seeking an Air Vehicle Lead to join the Maneuver Dominance team at our Costa Mesa HQ. We are developing a hybrid-electric tiltrotor autonomous aircraft in partnership with a leading advanced air mobility company. Anduril owns the mission system, while our partner owns the air vehicle. The Air Vehicle Lead will own the technical execution at the co-development interface, ensuring the aircraft meets military mission requirements.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

• Own the Air Vehicle System Design Document (SDD) — maintain, evolve, and enforce the design baseline that drives our partner's air vehicle from Anduril's mission needs
• Represent Anduril in partner vehicle engineering design reviews — advocate for military mission requirements (payload, power, survivability, flight performance)
• Support the CE in defining ICDs and manage the full co-development technical interface: space claims, power/thermal budgets, structural provisions, flight envelope allocations
• Drive air vehicle configuration decisions that affect mission capability — payload bay geometry, antenna placement, sensor structural provisions, power architecture
• Own TPM management across the air vehicle interface — track verification closure, manage open technical risks
• Coordinate vehicle-level architecture decisions from Anduril's perspective — balancing acoustic signature, cruise speed, payload capacity, and certification timeline
• Work with our partner to provide simulation models and support operational analysis teams in mission trades
• Plan capability increments and mission system integration phasing — define the path from early flight to full mission capability
• Support TEMP buildout, design milestones, and flight test planning
• Own the air vehicle certification strategy interface — coordinate Anduril's military airworthiness approach with partner's commercial certification
• Drive cross-team execution — pull together efforts from both Anduril and partner engineering to maintain schedule and resolve integration issues
• Drive the development-to-production configuration evolution to ensure production air vehicle accommodates full military mission system

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• 8+ years in rotorcraft, tiltrotor, or VTOL vehicle engineering at the subsystem or vehicle level
• Deep understanding of VTOL flight mechanics (hover, transition, cruise) and how they constrain vehicle design
• Experience owning or negotiating technical interfaces (ICDs, power budgets, TPMs) across an organizational boundary with an external partner
• Hybrid-electric or electric propulsion architecture familiarity
• Techical project management — driving execution across multiple teams, managing design milestones, and maintaining schedule accountability in a co-development environment
• Requirements engineering — decomposition, baseline management, change control
• Ability to operate with influence rather than direct authority — technical credibility as the primary tool
• Willingness to travel ~20% (partner sites, UK, test locations)
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a U.S. Security Clearance

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Tiltrotor-specific experience (V-22, AW609, or eVTOL tiltrotor programs)
• Airworthiness and certification exposure (Part 27, SC-VTOL, SORA/SAIL, or MIL-HDBK-516C)
• Flight test planning and envelope expansion support
• Advanced rotor technology familiarity (variable-speed, optimized-speed concepts)
• Autonomous systems integration understanding — how AV design affects autonomy performance
• Production transition experience (development prototype to production-representative)
• UK MoD / allied certification frameworks
• eVTOL industry experience

US Salary Range

$146,000 - $253,000 USD

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.

Protecting Yourself from Recruitment Scams

To ensure your safety and help you navigate your job search with confidence, please keep the following critical points in mind:

• No Financial Requests: Anduril will never solicit payment or demand personal financial details (such as banking information, credit card numbers, or social security numbers) at any stage of our hiring process. Our legitimate recruitment is entirely free for candidates.
• Please always verify communications:
• Direct from Anduril: If you receive an email from one of our recruiters, it will only come from an @anduril.com address.
• Via Agency Partner: If contacted by a recruiting agency for an Anduril role, their email will clearly identify their agency. If you suspect any suspicious activity, please verify the agency's authenticity by reaching out to contact@anduril.com.
• Direct from Anduril: If you receive an email from one of our recruiters, it will only come from an @anduril.com address.
• Via Agency Partner: If contacted by a recruiting agency for an Anduril role, their email will clearly identify their agency. If you suspect any suspicious activity, please verify the agency's authenticity by reaching out to contact@anduril.com.
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