Programs Chief Engineer · Anduril Industries

Sat, 25 Apr 2026 15:03:17 GMT
Engineering

Anduril Industries · Costa Mesa, California, United States · $254,000-$336,000 USD · onsite

As the Programs Chief Engineer, you will lead the technical vision, architecture, and execution for our Dive-XL autonomous underwater system within a major US undersea defense program. You will be responsible for defining and driving the system's architecture, technical roadmap, and overall engineering excellence. You will lead a multi-disciplinary team of high-performing engineers, ensuring that the system meets stringent performance, reliability, and mission requirements in challenging maritime environments.

Your responsibilities will include:

Technical Leadership & Vision: Define and articulate the technical vision and strategic roadmap for the system, ensuring alignment with Anduril's broader Dive-XL Core Platform and customer needs.

Architectural Design Authority: Serve as the ultimate technical authority for the system architecture, design decisions, and critical trade-offs across all engineering disciplines (mechanical, electrical, software, autonomy, acoustics, materials).

System Integration & Performance: Oversee the end-to-end development lifecycle, from requirements definition and conceptual design through detailed design, integration, test, and deployment.

Test & Evaluation: Define and oversee the test and evaluation strategy, including acceptance criteria, test readiness reviews, and support to customer acceptance testing.

Technical Problem Solving: Lead the resolution of complex technical challenges, acting as a hands-on expert and guiding teams through difficult design, integration, or operational issues.

Team Mentorship & Development: Provide technical mentorship, guidance, and critical review for engineering teams, fostering a culture of innovation, excellence, and rigorous problem-solving.

Risk and Opportunity Management: Identify, assess, and mitigate technical risks throughout the program lifecycle, developing contingency plans and advising program leadership.

Customer & Stakeholder Engagement: Act as a primary technical point of contact for internal stakeholders, customers, and partners. Clearly communicate complex technical information, program status, and strategic direction.

Cross-Site Coordination: Collaborate closely with the AU Chief Engineer counterpart to ensure technical alignment across program variants, share lessons learned, and maintain architectural consistency.

Requirements Management: Ensure robust requirements decomposition, traceability, and verification plans are in place for all subsystems.

Innovation & Research: Stay abreast of cutting-edge technologies, research, and industry trends relevant to autonomous underwater systems, incorporating best practices and innovative solutions.

To be successful in this role, you will need to have:

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 US Secret Clearance.

Preferred qualifications include:

Deep expertise across multiple AUV sub-domains, such as hydrodynamics & propulsion, power systems, underwater acoustics & communications, navigation & perception, autonomy & control, materials science & corrosion, mechanical design, software architectures, and active US Secret Clearance or higher.

Experience with the full lifecycle of US Navy and DoD acquisition programs.

Demonstrated understanding of the NAVSEA technology adoption processes and its application to defense acquisition, particularly as it relates to technical requirements, risk management, and program execution.

Experience with system safety engineering practices (e.g., MIL-STD-882) and familiarity with submarine/AUV safety certification processes.

Familiarity with cybersecurity best practices for autonomous systems.

Expertise in AI/ML applications for AUV autonomy, perception, and decision-making.

Experience with advanced manufacturing techniques for marine systems.