Aerial Observer Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

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
The Tactical Recon and Strike team at Anduril develops aerial small drones (Group 1-3) and all equipment to test, deploy and operate. The team is responsible for taking products like Ghost, Anvil, Bolt and Altius from paper sketches to operational systems. We work in close coordination with specialist teams to solve some of the hardest problems facing our customers. We are looking for software engineers, hardware engineers, roboticists, and front-end mobile developers who are excited about creating a powerful robotics platform that can be tasked and viewed in real-time through a variety of interfaces.
The guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) team within TRS performs implementation, analysis, test, and validation for GNC software solutions supporting our autonomous drone fleet. Applications include attitude and position control, waypoint and terminal guidance engagements, and navigating contested environments including communication and GPS denied environments.
ABOUT THE JOB
This role will be responsible for guidance and control law development and validation, hardware and software in-the-loop test and analysis, and cutting edge navigation solutions supporting the entire range of drones within TRS.
This position will be on-site at our headquarters in Costa Mesa, CA (relocation benefits provided.)
WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Develop, debug, and test flight controllers and guidance algorithms
• Develop and test Software-In-The-Loop and Hardware-In-The-Loop tests in preparation for flight testing
• Work closely with the flight software team to define requirements, integrate GNC software and test functionality in simulation
• Review test data captured from the flight control system, subsystems, and other test instrumentation to verify vehicle performance, evaluate GNC algorithm/controller behavior, or debug incidents during testing or from fielded assets
• Develop models required to support functional evaluation of GNC software

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field with a focus on dynamic systems and control
• 4 years professional experience in a GNC role, preferably on airborne platforms
• Experience with Matlab and Simulink
• Experience in modeling and simulation of linear and nonlinear dynamic systems and model linearization
• A passion for defending the Unites States of America and its allies
• Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Master's Degree of PhD in Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field with a focus on dynamic systems and control
• Experience with state estimation - Kalman filtering, sensor fusion, etc.
• Experience with integrating and debugging navigation systems for aerial platforms
• Experience with flight control design and analysis for fixed and rotary wing aircraft or missile systems
• Experience with guidance algorithm development
• C/C++ Proficiency
• Experience with Simulink Embedded Coder

US Salary Range
$166,000-$220,000 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.
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
• 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 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
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.