Principal System Safety Engineer
Costa Mesa · Costa Mesa, CA (OC-00) · USD 253,000-336,000 · 15+ years experience · Full-time · Posted Oct 15, 2026
At a glance
- Experience
- 15+ years experience
- Employment
- Full-time
- Location
- Costa Mesa · Costa Mesa, CA (OC-00)
- Salary
- USD 253,000-336,000 · Base salary
About the role
- Anduril Industries is hiring Principal System Safety Engineers to operate across the entire company, serving as a company-wide technical authority on system safety.
- This role sets the safety philosophy, risk acceptance posture, and analytical standards that apply across every division, providing independent safety assessments of programs at any lifecycle point.
Responsibilities
- Serve as a company-wide System Safety technical authority across all Anduril divisions, setting direction that spans Air Dominance & Strike, Maritime, Ground Systems, Space, Counter-UAS, and Autonomy/Lattice.
- Conduct independent, end-to-end safety assessments of any program at any lifecycle phase.
- Deploy as a senior technical resource to programs across the portfolio, standing up a credible System Safety approach quickly and leaving behind a baseline the program team can sustain.
- Prepare programs and their engineering teams for formal government safety certification.
- Shape Anduril's enterprise technical risk posture by introducing the analytical models, hazard framing, and risk acceptance philosophy that leadership uses to make fielding, test, and investment decisions.
- Pioneer analysis and verification approaches for emerging technology, including autonomous and AI/ML-enabled systems, where MIL-STD-882E and existing frameworks do not provide sufficient coverage.
- Negotiate safety acceptance criteria, alternate means of compliance, and tailored standards with customers, service safety centers, and regulatory authorities on behalf of the company.
- Drive System Safety philosophy, planning standards, and requirements practice across the enterprise, and influence customer and regulatory requirements for novel systems.
- Grow Senior and Staff System Safety engineers into recognized experts and create the frameworks, mental models, and training for engineers across the company.
- Represent Anduril externally as a thought leader in industry working groups, standards bodies, and customer safety forums.
Requirements
- Minimum of 15 years of industry experience as a System Safety Engineer or equivalent engineering background.
- B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Systems Engineering, or equivalent technical discipline.
- Direct experience with government safety review boards such as the Weapon System Explosives Safety Review Board (WSESRB), Nonnuclear Munitions Safety Board (NNMSB), and Software System Safety Technical Review Panel (SSSTRP) including building the safety case, presenting it, and achieving board approval.
- Deep experience with safety-critical hardware and software systems in the defense or aerospace industry, with a preference for Weapon Systems, Aircraft, UAS, Maritime, Space, Munitions and Energetics, or Rotorcraft.
- Expert-level knowledge of MIL-STD-882E, including the judgment to tailor it credibly, and working familiarity with service-level system safety policy and the Joint Software Systems Safety Engineering Handbook (JSSSEH).
- Expert background in safety analysis techniques including FTA, FHA, SCFTA, and FMECA, with the judgment to know when each technique is the wrong tool for the problem.
- Failure investigation and analysis experience with a proven track record of solving problems and preventing reoccurrence.
- Extensive Design Review experience (PDR, CDR, MRR) and confident presentation skills across all levels of leadership, including executives, customers, and external safety authorities.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills and excellent communication skills, with the ability to build influence across organizations where you have no formal authority.
- Eligibility to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance.
Preferred qualifications
- M.S. or Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Systems Engineering, or equivalent technical discipline.
- AI/ML and autonomy safety experience, including run-time assurance and the safety implications of DoD autonomous weapon system policy.
- Experience with Relyence, Teamcenter, JIRA, JAMA, Cameo, and/or Ansys.
Benefits
- Highly competitive equity grants included in the majority of full time offers
- Top-tier benefits for full-time employees supporting health, recovery, and whatever comes next
Workplace
- Willingness to travel between Anduril sites, customer locations, and test ranges to support programs across the portfolio.
Skills
- MIL-STD-882E
- FTA
- FHA
- SCFTA
- FMECA
- Relyence
- Teamcenter
- JIRA
- JAMA
- Cameo
- Ansys
