Senior Operational Performance Engineer, Tracking & Evidence Strategy

Senior Operational Performance Engineer, Performance Tracking & Evidence Strategy

Huntington Beach, California, United States

Founded in 2023, Mach Industries is a rapidly growing defense technology company focused on developing next-generation autonomous defense platforms. At the core of our mission is the commitment to delivering scalable, decentralized defense systems that enhance the strategic capabilities of the United States and its allies. With a workforce of approximately 350 employees, we operate with startup agility and ambition.

Our vision is to redefine the future of warfare through cutting-edge manufacturing, innovation at speed, and unwavering focus on national security. We are dedicated to solving the next generation of warfare with lethal systems that deter kinetic conflict and protect global security.

Mach Industries is seeking a Senior Operational Performance Engineer to track vehicle performance and uncertainty from conceptual design through production and to lead the evidence strategy that closes the gaps. You will maintain the vehicle-level picture of predicted performance, measured performance, and the confidence each claim deserves. You will define the engineering questions that matter most, determine what analysis and test evidence is needed to answer them, and drive measured-data insights back into the conceptual design and MDAO tools that generate the next prediction.

This is a vehicle-level engineering role. You will work across Conceptual Design, MDAO, GNC, Propulsion, Mechanical, Flight Test, and other engineering teams to track performance, identify risks, define evidence requirements, establish assessment criteria, and drive uncertainties toward closure. You will work closely with the Mass Properties and Vehicle Performance engineer, whose records and baselines feed your tracking and assessment work.

This role is part of Operational Performance within Mach's Vehicle Design and Performance organization, alongside Conceptual Design and MDAO. Conceptual Design creates, MDAO enables, and Operational Performance assesses and closes the loop. The ideal candidate combines broad vehicle knowledge with strong experimental judgment and a track record of independently defining what a program needs to learn and influencing how it gets there.

• Own vehicle-level performance tracking from conceptual design through production, maintaining a continuous picture of predicted performance, measured performance, and the deltas between them as the vehicle matures.
• Own vehicle-level uncertainty tracking, quantifying confidence in each performance claim, prioritizing the highest-consequence unknowns, and driving them toward closure.
• Lead vehicle performance assessment and evidence planning across the development lifecycle, scaling rigor from early demonstrators through production commitments.
• Translate performance objectives, requirements, and engineering risks into analysis plans, measurement requirements, data quality needs, and success criteria.
• Define what must be measured, under what conditions, and to what confidence to produce the required evidence, and recommend tests to Flight Test and discipline teams accordingly.
• Establish pre-test predictions and uncertainty expectations, then assess ground and flight test results against those benchmarks to determine what has been learned and what remains open.
• Partner with Flight Test and discipline teams to make data requirements practical and achievable, explaining engineering intent and prioritizing needs.
• Partner with MDAO and Conceptual Design to feed model correlation results, validated data, and prediction-accuracy trends back into design and sizing tools, improving fidelity and reducing uncertainty on future vehicles.
• Communicate vehicle performance state, open uncertainties, evidence status, and risk-informed recommendations to Vehicle Leads, engineering teams, and program stakeholders.
• Build and maintain reusable methods and automated workflows for performance tracking, assessment, model correlation, and reporting.

• Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical…