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Defense Consulting information

See California salary details

$21.2K

$79.8K

$159.9K

How much do defense consulting jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 18, 2026, the average yearly pay for defense consulting in California is $79,769.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $49,300.00 and $104,100.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a defense consulting?

A Defense Consulting job involves providing expert advice and services to government agencies, military organizations, or defense contractors. Consultants help with strategy, policy development, risk assessment, procurement, and technology implementation to enhance national security and defense operations. They often have backgrounds in military service, engineering, cybersecurity, or policy analysis. The role requires understanding defense regulations, project management, and collaboration with stakeholders to ensure mission success.

What are the typical daily responsibilities of a defense consultant?

As a Defense Consultant, your daily responsibilities might include analyzing client operations, developing strategic recommendations, preparing technical reports, and supporting project management tasks. You will often participate in meetings with clients to understand their needs, collaborate with multidisciplinary teams, and help ensure regulatory and contract compliance. Additionally, you may conduct research on defense policies or new technologies, assist in proposal development, and provide training or briefings as needed. This dynamic role requires adaptability, analytical rigor, and strong communication skills, making every day diverse and intellectually engaging.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive in defense consulting, and why are they important?

To thrive in Defense Consulting, you should have a solid background in defense operations, analytical skills, and relevant educational credentials such as a degree in engineering, international relations, or military science. Familiarity with defense acquisition systems, government contracting processes, and industry-standard tools like Microsoft Project, as well as certifications such as PMP or Security Clearance, is often required. Excellent communication, problem-solving, and relationship-building skills are important soft skills that help consultants succeed in client-facing and team environments. These abilities are vital for delivering effective solutions, navigating complex defense projects, and fostering trust with government and industry clients.

How do you become a defense consultant?

To become a defense consultant, individuals typically need a background in defense, security, or related fields, often requiring a bachelor's or master's degree in areas like international relations, security studies, or engineering. Gaining experience through military service, government agencies, or defense contractors, along with developing expertise in areas such as cybersecurity, logistics, or strategic planning, is important. Certifications like PMP or security clearances can also enhance prospects in this specialized field.

What does a defense consulting do?

A defense consultant provides expertise to government agencies or private companies on military strategy, security, and defense systems. They analyze threats, develop security protocols, and advise on defense policies, often requiring knowledge of military technology and security standards. Their work may involve research, strategic planning, and collaboration with defense personnel.

What are the most commonly searched types of Defense Consulting jobs in California?

The most popular types of Defense Consulting jobs in California are:

What are popular job titles related to Defense Consulting jobs in California?

For Defense Consulting jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:

What job categories do people searching Defense Consulting jobs in California look for?

The top searched job categories for Defense Consulting jobs in California are:

What cities in California are hiring for Defense Consulting jobs?

Cities in California with the most Defense Consulting job openings:

Defense Consulting jobs near you
Infographic showing various Defense Consulting job openings in California as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% Internship, 87% Full Time, 7% Part Time, and 5% Contract. Highlights an 83% Physical, 6% Hybrid, and 11% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $79,769 per year, or $38.4 per hour.

Product Operations Technical Specialist, Air Defense

Anduril Industries

Irvine, CA

Full-time

Re-posted 25 days ago

Anduril rating

9.1

Company rating: 9.1 out of 10

Anduril

Based on 17 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

7.4

Company rating compared to similar companies: 7.4 out of 10

Manufacturers average

Based on 75,541 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

Job description

Team Overview

The Air Defense team builds robots that find other robots and knock them out of the sky. At a time when air superiority can no longer be taken for granted, the Air Defense team provides mission critical capabilities to warfighters. From detection to tracking, identification, deterrence, and defeat, our family of networked sensors and effectors enables our customers to rapidly close the kill chain against a broad range of UAS threats. Working across product, engineering, business development, logistics, operations, and mission success, the Air Defense team develops, tests, deploys, and sustains the Anduril Air Defense Family of Systems in challenging operational environments worldwide.

Role Specifics

As a Product Operations Associate on the Air Defense team, your mission is to do whatever it takes to maintain the health of our deployed Air Defense technology. You will be responsible for identifying, triaging, escalating, and managing resolution of all incidents across our deployed fleet of systems. Your analysis of incident- and sustainment-related data, identification of trends, and development of appropriate recommendations will inform decision-making by various cross-functional stakeholders across mission operations, program management, engineering, and sustainment. If you enjoy cross-functional problem-solving and are passionate about supporting national security priorities through cutting-edge technology, our team is interested in speaking with you.

What You'll Do
  • Incident Resolution: Identify, triage, troubleshoot, and, as necessary, escalate incidents affecting health and performance of deployed air defense assets to expeditious resolution.
  • Root Cause Analysis: Initiate root cause analysis of specific incidents and produce trend analyses of aggregated incident data to facilitate follow-on investigation and root cause corrective action (RCCA) by product engineering teams.
  • Data Analysis & Decision Support: Identify, record, analyze, and communicate data and trends relevant to the health and performance of assets to facilitate decision-making by cross-functional stakeholders across mission operations, technical operations, deployment operations, and product engineering teams.
  • Fleet Sustainment: Collaborate with various cross-functional teams to continuously sustain and modernize our fleet of deployed systems through proactive hardware and software maintenance and upgrades.
  • Project Management: Execute project work focused on enhancing the scalability of our fleet sustainment processes and infrastructure.
Required Qualifications
  • 2+ years of experience in any or several of the following sectors: government agency, military, defense, consulting, manufacturing
  • Self-starter with a record of high achievement in multiple domains
  • Ability to communicate and coordinate technical and non-technical efforts across various business, engineering, and sustainment functions, influencing decision-making, resource allocation, and operational planning
  • Excellent written, visual, and verbal communication skills.
  • Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance
  • Willingness to work non-standard hours and weekends as needed
Preferred Qualifications
  • Bachelors degree in a STEM field and/or previous technical work experience
  • Experience with Linux Command Line Interface (CLI)
 

Working at Anduril

About Anduril, in their own words

From Anduril

As the world enters an era of strategic competition, Anduril delivers cutting-edge autonomy, AI, computer vision, sensor fusion, and networking technology to the warfighter in months, not years.

What Anduril employees say

Pay

Benefits

Hours and flexibility

Workplace

Get the full story on Breakroom

Anduril Industries logo

About Anduril Industries

Sourced by ZipRecruiter

Anduril Industries is a trailblazer in the technology industry based in Costa Mesa, CA, US. Founded in 2017 by Palmer Luckey, the creator of Oculus VR, the company focuses on developing innovative technology to equip and empower those in the defense sector. Its primary products include cutting-edge autonomous systems and AI software that assist in combating threats to national and global security. The mission of Anduril Industries is to integrate technology and defense by building transformative, scalable solutions that ensure a safer world.

Industry

Guided missile and space vehicle manufacturing

Company size

501 - 1,000 Employees

Headquarters location

Costa Mesa, CA, US

Year founded

2017

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