Payload Mechanical Engineer

Anduril • Costa Mesa, CA

1d

About The Position

Own mechanical design for payloads carried by a maritime autonomous vehicle. Reporting to the Payload Lead, this role designs payload housings, mounting structures, and mechanical interfaces that allow Anduril and third-party payloads to integrate into the vehicle. The assemblies must be pressure-rated, fit within constrained volumes, and be swappable in the field. The role also requires technical leadership to set objectives, build cross-functional teams, and drive projects to completion, selecting appropriate design, analysis, and test steps for optimized multidisciplinary projects.

The role supports payload hardware from design through prototyping, integration testing, and at-sea validation, and includes travel of up to 25% to test sites and supplier facilities.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent.
• At least 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 center-of-gravity 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.

Nice To Haves

• 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.

Responsibilities

• 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 swapping 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.
• Set objectives, build cross-functional teams, and drive projects to completion.

Benefits

• Highly competitive equity grants are included in the majority of full-time offers and are considered part of total compensation.
• Top-tier benefits for full-time employees, described as comprehensive and competitive and available at little to no cost to employees.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior