Staff Systems Engineer

Anduril • Costa Mesa, CA

3d

About The Position

Anduril's Warfighter Systems division is developing a next-generation counter-UAS kinetic response system that combines real-time computer vision, sensor data, and onboard processing to improve effectiveness against hostile drones. The Staff Systems Engineer will provide technical leadership across a complex, warfighter-portable anti-UAV product integrating precision optics, computer vision, embedded compute, actuators, laser subsystems, and kinetic effectors. The role serves as the technical link across these domains, turning separate components into a cohesive, production-ready system for tactical use.

The engineer will drive architecture and product decisions, translate mission needs into system requirements, and manage tradeoffs among accuracy, latency, power, size, weight, and ruggedization. Responsibilities span cross-functional integration, system error budgeting, design reviews, technical risk management, and verification and validation from lab testing through live engagements. The role also includes improving systems documentation and digital engineering practices, creating clear technical narratives and user documentation, and engaging with warfighters and customers during field exercises and operational evaluations.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, Robotics, Aerospace Engineering, Physics, or another technical discipline.
• 8+ years of systems engineering experience, preferably in rapid product development environments.
• Track record delivering complex multi-domain electro-mechanical systems; ideally involving optics, sensors, actuators, embedded compute, and software.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams to deliver on aggressive schedules.
• Hands-on prototyping, troubleshooting, and integration experience, including work across CAD, lab benches, and field tests.
• Experience owning verification and validation across the product lifecycle, including environmental qualification for shock, vibration, thermal conditions, and sealing.
• Willingness to challenge the status quo and develop first-principles solutions.
• Strong technical intuition and excellent communication skills.
• Ability to make decisions with imperfect information and adapt as new data emerges.
• Experience with modern systems engineering tools and methodologies, including MBSE, requirements management, or digital engineering.
• Must be a U.S. Person due to required access to U.S. export-controlled information or facilities.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with counter-UAS systems, air defense, precision tracking, fire control, or kinetic effector systems.
• Multi-domain product experience spanning electro-optics, lasers, actuators or servo control, or stabilized platforms.
• Background in robotics or autonomous systems, such as automotive AV or industrial robotics.
• Familiarity with computer vision pipelines, including detection, tracking, calibration, and pose estimation, and their integration into embedded platforms.
• Experience with embedded compute platforms such as Qualcomm Snapdragon or NVIDIA Jetson and their SWaP tradeoffs.
• Experience with system error budgeting across optical, mechanical, and algorithmic contributors.
• Experience bridging prototype-to-production transitions, including DFM/DFA and medium-volume manufacturing of hundreds to thousands of units.
• Prior experience as a technical SME or IPT lead on a complex DoD program.
• Active DoD security clearance at Secret level or above, or ability to obtain one.

Responsibilities

• Serve as technical authority across optics, computer vision, electro-mechanical actuation, laser subsystems, embedded compute, and counter-UAS effector integration, translating mission outcomes into system architectures.
• Lead integration across mechanical, electrical, firmware, computer vision, and manufacturing teams.
• Revisit system requirements using first-principles thinking and identify warfighter needs to develop technical specifications.
• Create system architecture diagrams that align mechanical, electrical, optical, and software interfaces.
• Own product decisions and balance accuracy, latency, power, SWaP, ruggedization, and system integrity.
• Define and manage the system-level error budget across optics, mechanical tolerances, calibration, computer vision algorithms, and actuator control.
• Lead design reviews from requirements definition through verification and validation.
• Manage technical risks and ensure systems meet military shock, vibration, environmental, and EMI standards.
• Identify and eliminate development bottlenecks to accelerate delivery.
• Own verification and validation plans and execution, including lab, benchtop, and live-engagement test campaigns against representative UAS threats.
• Use systems engineering tools and approaches such as Flow, Jama, Cameo, MBSE, and Digital Twins to document systems, visualize architectures, and model performance.
• Create technical narratives for engineers, leadership, program stakeholders, and end users.
• Build digital engineering foundations for rapid iteration and continuous improvement of DEADSHOT and follow-on products.
• Create user documentation that enables warfighters to operate and sustain the product in the field.
• Travel to field exercises and customer events to teach users and incorporate their feedback into technical designs.
• Support live-engagement assessments and operational evaluations alongside end users.

Benefits

• Highly competitive equity grants are included in the majority of full-time offers and are part of Anduril's total compensation package.
• 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