--- title: 'Design Engineer, Space Special Programs at Anduril Industries' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/design-engineer-space-special-programs-anduril-industries-chantilly-virginia-pqk3zf2m4h7g' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-12' --- # Design Engineer, Space Special Programs at Anduril Industries - **Company:** Anduril Industries - **Location:** Chantilly Virginia, United States / Herndon Virginia, United States - **Compensation:** $129k–$171k - **Posted:** 2026-08-11 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-12 - **Apply:** https://boards.greenhouse.io/andurilindustries/jobs/5208966007?gh_jid=5208966007 ## Job description 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. As the world enters an era of strategic competition, Anduril is committed to bringing cutting-edge autonomy, AI, computer vision, sensor fusion, and networking technology to the military in months, not years. ## ABOUT THE TEAM In the Space Special Programs team, we build spacecraft and space systems which serve a wide variety of functions in the space architecture. At a time when space superiority can no longer be taken for granted and with space systems proliferating at an incredible rate, the Space Special Programs team provides advanced, mission critical capabilities to our customer base to be able to more effectively operate and survive within this expanding environment with limited personnel. Working across product, engineering, sales, logistics, operations, and mission success, the Space Special Programs team develops, tests, deploys, and operates new, unique, space capabilities to drive mission success in challenging operational environments. ## ABOUT THE JOB Anduril is seeking Design Engineers to join the Space Special Programs team at our Chantilly, VA location. Here you will work on core technologies, subsystems, spacecraft, and complete space systems supporting the Space Special Programs team and core mission. This development includes but is not limited to optical systems, batteries, mechanisms, control systems, and sensors. The primary function of this role is to be a highly experienced resource to help implement and influence the team’s development roadmap, be a resource for mentoring and growing the engineering team, and to be an individual contributor in both technical and strategic areas. This role requires high ownership and frequent collaboration with other core disciplines. The ideal candidate would be practical, hands-on and a self-starter, with significant experience designing, analyzing, building, and operating spacecraft mechanical, opto-mechanical, and both passive and active mechanisms – experience machining components is a significant plus. High growth potential is possible as well as additional leadership opportunities. ## WHAT YOU’LL DO - Execute rapid evaluation of engineering concepts in a wide range of fields - Create solutions (with analysis, design, and experimentation) to blue-sky engineering problems and targeted mission needs alike - Design, analyze, implement, and test complex electro-mechanical systems - Maintain High level system ownership with large levels of professional autonomy - Participate in design reviews, integration and test campaigns, launch-site and on-orbit operations campaigns - Build prototypes, analyze failures, and transition successful projects into production - Mentor engineers and help them learn the art of small spacecraft design and test – teach them your mistakes so they won’t need to repeat them - Support critical hardware demonstrations with customers as needed - Travel to test sites as needed - Use first principles, physics, and personal experience as a basis for every decision - Identify partners in industry to engage with, and manage early vendor relationships ## REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS - Experience in an immersive technical project (professional settings) - Demonstrated leadership skills - 2-8 years of mechanical and mechanism design experience in a professional setting, - Experience designing systems for spacecraft and associated space systems - Experience in ground-up system design and any 3-D CAD - Hands-on assembly, prototyping, testing, and performance characterization of mechanisms designed for 0g but in a 1g environment. - Experience designing and building very small mechanisms, components, and systems. - Familiarity with launch environments, testing for launch environments, range safety, and system integration efforts - Demonstrated creativity and “out of the box thinking” for spacecraft mechanisms with an eye toward simplicity and reliability - High competence with, and fluid use of, engineering first principles - Strong organizational skills - BS, MS or PhD in an engineering field, or equivalent work experience - Must be a U.S. Citizen and able to obtain and maintain a U.S. Top Secret security clearance - Ability to work within our company and team culture - Ability to be pragmatic about problem solving ## PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS - Experience machining and modifying mechanical components - Outstanding leadership and interpersonal skills - Familiarity with designing MGSE to support spacecraft testing and development - Experience with Electro-Mechanical design concepts and working at the interface between electrical and mechanical components - Practical experience with electrical engineering tools (Oscilloscopes, power supplies, electronic loads, multimeters) - 3+ years of experience working in a classified environment US Salary Range $129,000—$171,000 USD The salary range for this role is an estimate based on a wide range of compensation factors, inclusive of base salary only. Actual salary offer may vary based on (but not limited to) work experience, education and/or training, critical skills, and/or business considerations. Highly competitive equity grants are included in the majority of full time offers; and are considered part of Anduril's total compensation package. Additionally, Anduril offers top-tier benefits for full-time employees, including: ## Benefits At Anduril, we invest in our people. Our comprehensive, competitive benefits package (available at little to no cost to employees) ensures you’re supported in health, recovery, and whatever comes next. For more information, [Explore Our Benefits](https://www.anduril.com/careers). Protecting Yourself from Recruitment Scams Anduril is committed to maintaining the integrity of our Talent acquisition process and the security of our candidates. We've observed a rise in sophisticated phishing and fraudulent schemes where individuals impersonate Anduril representatives, luring job seekers with false interviews or job offers. These scammers often attempt to extract payment or sensitive personal information. To ensure your safety and help you navigate your job search with confidence, please keep the following critical points in mind: - No Financial Requests: Anduril will never solicit payment or demand personal financial details (such as banking information, credit card numbers, or social security numbers) at any stage of our hiring process. Our legitimate recruitment is entirely free for candidates. - Please always verify communications: - Direct from Anduril: If you receive an email from one of our recruiters, it will only come from an @anduril.com address. - Via Agency Partner: If contacted by a recruiting agency for an Anduril role, their email will clearly identify their agency. If you suspect any suspicious activity, please verify the agency's authenticity by reaching out to contact@anduril.com. - Exercise Caution with Unsolicited Outreach: If you receive any communication that appears suspicious, contains grammatical errors, or makes unusual requests, do not engage. Always confirm the sender's email domain is @anduril.com before providing any personal information or clicking on links. - What to Do If You Suspect Fraud: Should you encounter any questionable or fraudulent outreach claiming to be from Anduril, please report it immediately to contact@anduril.com. Your proactive caution is invaluable in protecting your personal information and upholding the security and trustworthiness of our recruitment efforts. Data Privacy To view Anduril's candidate data privacy policy, please visit https://anduril.com/applicant-privacy-notice/. By submitting your application, you consent to Anduril Industries using a third-party service provider to conduct pre-employment risk, integrity, and due diligence screening and assessing potential risks as part of your application process. This third-party service provider provides risk-intelligence services that may include analysis of sanctions and watchlists, adverse media, public-record information, and other lawful open-source or commercial data sources. This third-party service provider does not act as a consumer reporting agency. Use of this provider helps to ensure compliance with applicable laws and protect technology, intellectual property, and organizational security. ## About Anduril Industries ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: A military technology company developing AI-powered autonomous systems and software for defense and national security. - **Entity Type**: Private (Series H) - **Headquarters**: Costa Mesa, California, USA - **Founded**: 2017 - **Founders**: Palmer Luckey, Trae Stephens, Matt Grimm, Joe Chen, Brian Schimpf ## Core Business - Primary industry: Defense, aerospace, artificial intelligence, robotics - Target customers: Primarily B2G – U.S. Department of Defense, allied governments (e.g., UK, UAE), and border security agencies (e.g., CBP) - Mission/purpose: To accelerate the adoption of advanced technology in defense, with a focus on autonomous systems, AI-driven decision-making, and rapid production at scale. ## Products & Services - **[Lattice](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anduril_Industries#Lattice)**: AI-powered software platform that fuses sensor data from multiple sources (Anduril and third-party) to detect, identify, and track objects in real time. Core to all Anduril systems. - **[Sentry Tower](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anduril_Industries#Sentry_Tower)**: Autonomous, solar-powered surveillance tower (33ft) with cameras, radar, thermal imaging, and comms – used for border security and military base protection. - **[Ghost](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anduril_Industries#Ghost)**: Small, portable unmanned aerial system (UAS) for reconnaissance and surveillance; used by U.S. Marines and other forces. - **Altius Family**: Tube-launched, fixed-wing UAVs (e.g., Altius 600, Altius 700M) that can be deployed from aircraft, ground vehicles, or larger UAVs. - **Fury (YFQ-44A)**: Semi-autonomous collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) developed for the U.S. Air Force’s CCA program; first flight in October 2025. - **IVAS (Integrated Visual Augmentation System)**: Anduril took over development from Microsoft in 2025; a heads-up display/goggle system for ground soldiers. ## Market Standing - **Valuation**: $61 billion (Series H, May 2026) – [en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anduril_Industries) - **Annual Revenue**: $2 billion (2025) – [en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anduril_Industries) - **Total Funding**: ~$12.7 billion (across all rounds, including $5B raise in May 2026) – [robotics.press](https://robotics.press/news/anduril-deep-dive/) - **Notable Investors**: Founders Fund, Andreessen Horowitz, Thrive Capital, 8VC, General Catalyst, Lux Capital, Valor Equity Partners, D1 Capital Partners, Sands Capital - **Notable Customers/Partners**: U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Space Force, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), UK Home Office, Royal Navy, Edge Group (UAE), OpenAI - **Growth Signals**: - Raised $5B in May 2026 at a $61B valuation, up from $14B in August 2024 - Constructing Arsenal-1, a $1B hyperscale manufacturing facility in Ohio, with partnerships from Ohio State University - Acquired multiple companies between 2021-2026 (Area-I, Adranos, Blue Force Technologies, Numerica, Klas, ExoAnalytic Solutions, etc.) - Won contracts for CCA development (Air Force), robotic combat vehicle software (Army), and CBP border surveillance - Took over IVAS program from Microsoft (2025) - Employees grew from ~90 in 2017 to 7,000 in 2026 ## Competitive Advantages - **Vertically integrated**: Designs, manufactures, and operates its own hardware (drones, towers, missiles) and software (Lattice), enabling rapid iteration. - **AI-first approach**: Lattice provides a common operating picture across domains, reducing decision latency in combat scenarios. - **Speed of production**: Arsenal projects aim to produce advanced autonomous systems faster than traditional defense primes. - **Government trust**: Deep relationships with DoD and allied agencies, demonstrated by multi-million-dollar contracts and classified work. - **In-person, security-focused culture**: Proximity to military bases, industrial equipment, and classified contract requirements create a unique operational moat. ## Strategic Focus - **Hyperscale manufacturing**: Build Arsenal-1 (Ohio) and subsequent “Arsenal” facilities to manufacture autonomous weapons at near-peer-competitive speed. - **Space domain**: Acquired ExoAnalytic Solutions (March 2026) to expand into space-based intelligence and surveillance. - **Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA)**: Fury is a key program; competing for Air Force’s CCA Increment 1. - **International expansion**: Partnership with UAE’s Edge Group; sales to UK (Royal Navy, Home Office); plans to serve other Five Eyes and allied nations. - **AI integration**: Partnership with OpenAI to enhance defense systems; Lattice already used by Space Force for surveillance networks. ## Why Work Here - **Mission-driven work**: Direct impact on national security and defense technology – opportunity to work on cutting-edge AI, robotics, and autonomous systems. - **Culture**: Emphasizes in-person collaboration due to security requirements, industrial equipment, and classified programs. Offices include Costa Mesa (HQ), Boston, Atlanta, Seattle, Washington D.C., London, and Sydney. - **Growth trajectory**: Company has grown from 90 employees to 7,000 in ~9 years; significant investment in new facilities and acquisitions indicates continued expansion. - **Engineering focus**: Heavy investment in software, AI, hardware, and manufacturing engineering – roles span from software engineers to aerospace engineers to production specialists. - **Notable perks/benefits**: Not detailed in public sources, but the company offers competitive compensation in a high-stakes, high-impact environment. The Ohio Arsenal-1 facility will employ many from Ohio State University’s applied science programs. ## Sources 1. [en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anduril_Industries) – Wikipedia: Anduril Industries (key facts, revenue, employee count, product details, funding, acquisitions) 2. [tracxn.com](https://tracxn.com/d/companies/anduril/__qqOI0HKR47lFXorj9FAQlDfmJOqfOpDNWiW3JcO--ss) – Tracxn: Anduril company profile, funding stage, founders 3. [robotics.press](https://robotics.press/news/anduril-deep-dive/) – Robotics Press: Deep dive on valuation, revenue, total funding, employee estimate 4. [anduril.com/careers](https://www.anduril.com/careers) – Official careers page (search result summary) 5. [anduril.com/open-roles](https://www.anduril.com/open-roles) – Open roles listing ## Other roles at Anduril Industries - [Information Systems Security Officer, Space](https://feeny.ai/job/information-systems-security-officer-space-anduril-industries-costa-mesa-zwp9025w9760) — Costa Mesa California, United States - [Senior Technical Writer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-technical-writer-anduril-industries-reston-virginia-ndrwqr6yqqcc) — Reston Virginia, United States - [Construction Systems Specialist](https://feeny.ai/job/construction-systems-specialist-anduril-industries-costa-mesa-california-d82jdsxcq2mk) — Costa Mesa California, United States - [System Integration and Test Engineer, Space Systems](https://feeny.ai/job/system-integration-and-test-engineer-space-systems-anduril-industries-costa-kmfpy97hkwvt) — Costa Mesa California, United States - [Business Operations, Production](https://feeny.ai/job/business-operations-production-anduril-industries-washington-district-of-715g9mqc247p) — Washington District of Columbia, United States - [Senior Product Sourcing Engineer, Core Tech](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-product-sourcing-engineer-core-tech-anduril-industries-costa-mesa-tpps36bg7whr) — Costa Mesa California, United States - [Senior Technical Hardware Recruiter, Quality Control](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-technical-hardware-recruiter-quality-control-anduril-industries-costa-n4pwbrfsb07p) — Costa Mesa California, United States - [Contract Technical Recruiter, Production (Technicians)](https://feeny.ai/job/contract-technical-recruiter-production-technicians-anduril-industries-ashville-02hzm0tesq31) — Ashville Ohio, United States - [Asset Improvement Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/asset-improvement-lead-anduril-industries-costa-mesa-california-30rtjyvhqmpd) — Costa Mesa California, United States - [Manufacturing Security Operations Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/manufacturing-security-operations-manager-anduril-industries-mchenry-mississippi-98g7kfmhwkeb) — Mchenry Mississippi, United States