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Defense Contractor Software Engineer Jobs in Anaheim, CA

Software Engineer, Robotics

Irvine, CA · On-site

$191K - $253K/yr

Anduril Industries is a defense technology company with a mission to transform U.S. and allied ... Above all, Software Engineers on Air Defense are driven by a "Whatever It Takes" mindset-executing ...

Software Engineer

Seal Beach, CA · On-site

$135 - $183/hr

The Boeing Company Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS) has an exciting opportunity for an Experienced Software Engineer - Vehicle Management Systems to join our Experimental Systems Group (ESG ...

New

Software Engineer, Robotics

Irvine, CA · On-site

$166K - $282K/yr

Anduril Industries is a defense technology company with a mission to transform U.S. and allied ... Above all, Software Engineers on Air Defense are driven by a "Whatever It Takes" mindset-executing ...

Showing results 21-40

Defense Contractor Software Engineer information

See Anaheim, CA salary details

$66.5K

$154.4K

$215.1K

How much do defense contractor software engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Sep 6, 2026, the average yearly pay for defense contractor software engineer in Anaheim, CA is $154,443.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $125,600.00 and $181,100.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a defense contractor software engineer?

A Defense Contractor Software Engineer develops, tests, and maintains software systems for military and defense applications. They work for private companies that contract with government agencies, such as the Department of Defense, to create secure and reliable software solutions. Their work often involves embedded systems, cybersecurity, and compliance with strict government regulations. This role requires a security clearance, knowledge of specialized programming languages, and an understanding of defense industry standards.

What does a defense contractor software engineer do?

As a Defense Contractor Software Engineer, your daily responsibilities may include designing, coding, and testing software for defense systems, debugging complex issues, and ensuring products comply with security and regulatory standards. You'll often collaborate closely with systems engineers, hardware teams, and project managers to deliver integrated solutions. Depending on your project, you might also participate in technical reviews, support integration and testing activities, and maintain thorough documentation. Working within a multidisciplinary team, you will play a key role in delivering reliable and secure technology critical to national defense.

What skills and qualifications are needed to thrive as a defense contractor software engineer?

To excel as a Defense Contractor Software Engineer, you should possess strong programming skills in languages like C++, Java, or Python, a bachelor's degree in computer science or engineering, and eligibility for security clearance. Familiarity with tools and frameworks such as embedded systems, real-time operating systems (RTOS), and secure software development methodologies is often required, along with certifications like Security+ or CISSP. Outstanding problem-solving, attention to detail, and the ability to communicate effectively within multidisciplinary teams are valuable soft skills. These capabilities ensure project success, compliance with stringent regulations, and the ability to innovate in high-stakes, mission-critical environments.

What are popular job titles related to Defense Contractor Software Engineer jobs in Anaheim, CA?

For Defense Contractor Software Engineer jobs in Anaheim, CA, the most frequently searched job titles are:

What job categories do people searching Defense Contractor Software Engineer jobs in Anaheim, CA look for?

The top searched job categories for Defense Contractor Software Engineer jobs in Anaheim, CA are:

What cities near Anaheim, CA are hiring for Defense Contractor Software Engineer jobs?

Cities near Anaheim, CA with the most Defense Contractor Software Engineer job openings:

Infographic showing various Defense Contractor Software Engineer job openings in Anaheim, CA as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 92% Full Time, 6% Part Time, and 2% Contract. Highlights an 88% Physical, 3% Hybrid, and 9% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $154,443 per year, or $74.3 per hour.

Software Engineer, Dev Infra, Air Defense

Anduril Industries

Irvine, CA • On-site

Full-time

Re-posted 28 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 76,770 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz


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.
THE TEAM
The Air Defense DevInfra team builds and operates the software infrastructure the Air Defense program runs on. Our engineers are talented and hard-working, motivated to see their work rapidly deployed on the front lines - we support the systems that ship to the Southern border, Iraq, Ukraine, and more.
We own developer productivity, build and release tooling, and the cloud infrastructure beneath it - the systems that let other engineers ship faster, with fewer surprises, and with the evidence their programs require. Work ranges from backend services and data pipelines to CI/CD, reproducible builds, container security tooling, and AWS (GovCloud and commercial) infrastructure. Our customers are other Anduril engineers, release engineering, and defense program stakeholders.
YOU SHOULD APPLY IF YOU:
  • Have experience building backend software or developer tooling that real users depend on, and want to grow that experience on a DevInfra team supporting a high-stakes defense program.
  • Want to own meaningful pieces of shipped work - backend services, pipelines, tooling, and infrastructure - alongside senior engineers who will give you feedback and context.
  • Love building platform and infrastructure tooling that enables other software engineers to scale their output.
  • Enjoy working end-to-end on a problem: writing the Go/Python service, standing up the AWS infrastructure via Terraform, wiring it into CI, and debugging it when it misbehaves in production.
  • Are curious about the layers you haven't touched yet and ready to learn them on the job.
  • Are a U.S. Person because of required access to U.S. export controlled information, and are eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Top Secret security clearance.
NICE TO HAVE
  • At least 3+ years working with a variety of programming languages such as Rust, Go, C++, Java, Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, etc.
  • Professional software development lifecycle experience using tools such as version control, CI/CD systems, etc.
  • Experience building backend software systems with various data storage and processing requirements.
  • Experience with industry-standard cloud platforms (AWS, Azure), CI/CD tools, and software infrastructure fundamentals (networking, security, distributed systems).
  • Experience with modern build and deployment tooling (e.g. NixOS, Terraform).
  • Ability to quickly understand and navigate complex systems and established code bases.
  • Familiarity with industry-standard monitoring and logging tools.
  • A bias toward rapid delivery and iteration.
  • You've built or invented something: an app, a website, a game, a startup.
  • Previous experience working in an engineering setting: a startup (or startup-like environment), engineering school, etc. If you've succeeded in a low-structure, high-autonomy environment you'll succeed here.
  • Exposure to containers, SBOM tooling, or vulnerability scanning (Syft, Grype, Trivy).
  • Prior work on a platform, devinfra, SRE, or developer-productivity team.

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 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.

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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