Mission Systems - Payload Lead, Maritime
Costa Mesa · Costa Mesa, CA (OC-00) · USD 191,000-253,000 · 5+ years experience · Full-time · Posted Oct 15, 2026
At a glance
- Experience
- 5+ years experience
- Employment
- Full-time
- Location
- Costa Mesa · Costa Mesa, CA (OC-00)
- Salary
- USD 191,000-253,000 · Base salary
About the role
- You will own payload integration within Mission Systems for a maritime autonomous vehicle, owning integration of Anduril and third-party payloads from concept through deployment.
- Reporting to the Mission Systems Lead, you will own payload interfaces, interoperability, mission development, and reference mission kits.
Responsibilities
- Own payload architecture: mechanical, electrical, and software interfaces for all mission payloads
- Drive integration of Anduril payloads and government-furnished equipment onto the platform
- Drive interoperability standards for payload modularity across vehicle configurations
- Develop reference mission kits that package payloads with autonomy behaviors for specific mission sets
- Define payload interface requirements and work with Vehicle Systems on accommodation
- Manage payload integration schedule and cost across prototype and production phases
- Coordinate with third-party vendors on payload qualification and integration
- Provide technical mentorship to engineers across payload disciplines
- Support testing and field deployment of payload systems
- Represent the payload subsystem in technical and customer meetings
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent
- 5+ years of experience in payload integration, weapons systems, or mission systems
- Experience delivering payload integration in defense or aerospace environments
- Demonstrated experience with sensor integration, weapons systems, or C4ISR payloads
- Experience with the full product delivery lifecycle: design, test, manufacturing, deployment
- Deep understanding of military mission sets and payload capabilities
- Eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. Top Secret security clearance
Preferred qualifications
- Experience with maritime or undersea payload systems
- Working knowledge of payload certification and weapons safety (MIL-STD-882E)
- Experience with autonomous systems payload integration
- Familiarity with modular open systems architecture (MOSA)
- Prior Navy or defense operational experience
Benefits
- Highly competitive equity grants
- Top-tier benefits for full-time employees
Workplace
- Travel up to 25% to test sites, vendor facilities, and customer locations
