Programs Chief Engineer in Costa Mesa

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.

We are looking for a Chief Engineer to lead the technical vision, architecture, and execution for our Dive‑XL autonomous underwater system within a major U.S. undersea defense program. As the Chief Engineer, you will be the single point of technical accountability for the Dive‑XL system, bridging hardware, software, and operational domains to deliver robust, reliable, and high‑performing systems to the warfighter.

• Define and drive the system’s architecture, technical roadmap, and overall engineering excellence.
• Lead a multi‑disciplinary team of high‑performing engineers.
• Ensure the system meets stringent performance, reliability, and mission requirements in challenging maritime environments.
• Act as the ultimate technical authority for architecture, design decisions, and critical trade‑offs across all engineering disciplines (mechanical, electrical, software, autonomy, acoustics, materials).
• Oversee the end‑to‑end development lifecycle, from requirements definition and conceptual design through detailed design, integration, test, and deployment.
• Define and oversee the test and evaluation strategy, including acceptance criteria, test readiness reviews, and support to customer acceptance testing.
• Lead the resolution of complex technical challenges, guiding teams through difficult design, integration, or operational issues.
• Drive build‑vs‑buy decisions, manage technical debt, and balance speed of delivery against long‑term system sustainability.
• Provide technical mentorship, guidance, and critical review for engineering teams.
• Identify, assess, and mitigate technical risks throughout the program lifecycle, developing contingency plans.
• Serve as primary technical point of contact for internal stakeholders, customers, and partners.
• Collaborate closely with the AU Chief Engineer counterpart to ensure technical alignment across program variants.
• Ensure robust requirements decomposition, traceability, and verification plans are in place for all subsystems.
• Stay abreast of cutting‑edge technologies, research, and industry trends relevant to autonomous underwater systems.

• Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Robotics, Computer Science, or a related technical discipline.
• 15+ years of experience in the design, development, integration, and deployment of complex autonomous systems.
• 5+ years of demonstrated experience as a Chief Engineer, Technical Director, Lead Architect, Engineering Fellow, or equivalent senior technical leadership role on a major hardware/software program.
• Proficiency in systems engineering principles, including requirements management, interface control, verification, and validation.
• Proven ability to lead and mentor highly technical, multi‑disciplinary engineering teams.
• Exceptional communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to articulate complex technical concepts to diverse audiences.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a U.S. Secret Clearance.

• Deep expertise across multiple AUV sub‑domains, including:
• Hydrodynamics & Propulsion: vehicle dynamics, control systems, thrusters.
• Power Systems: battery technologies, power management, high‑voltage systems.
• Underwater Acoustics & Communications: modems, sonar, acoustic navigation.
• Navigation & Perception: INS/GPS‑denied navigation, vision systems, object detection/avoidance.
• Autonomy & Control: mission planning, decision‑making algorithms, real‑time control.
• Materials Science & Corrosion: marine‑grade materials, anti‑corrosion techniques.
• Mechanical Design: pressure hulls, payloads,…