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Firearm Design Engineer Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

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Firearm Design Engineer information

See California salary details

$40K

$110K

$162.3K

How much do firearm design engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 16, 2026, the average yearly pay for firearm design engineer in California is $110,039.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $82,900.00 and $137,200.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are some common challenges faced by firearm design engineers during the development process?

Firearm Design Engineers often encounter challenges such as balancing innovation with strict safety and compliance standards, ensuring durability, and managing tight project timelines. They must frequently collaborate with manufacturing teams, quality assurance, and regulatory bodies to address technical constraints or design modifications. Adapting to changing technology and client specifications is also common, requiring flexibility and continuous learning. Successfully navigating these challenges contributes to the creation of reliable, high-performing products that comply with all legal and safety requirements.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a firearm design engineer?

To thrive as a Firearm Design Engineer, you need a strong background in mechanical engineering, materials science, and ballistics, usually supported by a relevant engineering degree. Expertise in CAD software, rapid prototyping, and knowledge of industry safety standards and compliance certifications are vital. Attention to detail, creative problem-solving, and strong collaboration skills help individuals excel in cross-functional teams. These capabilities are crucial to ensure innovative, reliable, and safe firearm designs that meet both technical specifications and regulatory requirements.

What is a firearm design engineer?

A Firearm Design Engineer is responsible for designing, developing, and testing firearms and related components. They use engineering principles, computer-aided design (CAD) software, and materials science to create safe, functional, and innovative weapon systems. Their work involves collaboration with manufacturing teams, compliance with industry regulations, and performance testing to ensure reliability and safety. Many Firearm Design Engineers have backgrounds in mechanical or aerospace engineering and a strong understanding of ballistics and materials.

What are the most commonly searched types of Firearm Design Engineer jobs in California?

The most popular types of Firearm Design Engineer jobs in California are:

Infographic showing various Firearm Design Engineer job openings in California as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 100% Full Time. Highlights an 100% In-person job distribution, with an average salary of $110,039 per year, or $52.9 per hour.

Motor Controls Engineer (Electrical/PCB Design)

Anduril Industries

Costa Mesa, CA

$85K - $114K/yr

Full-time

Re-posted yesterday


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 75,479 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz


Job description

ABOUT THE JOB

Anduril is seeking a Motor Controls Engineer, Electrical to join the team at our Costa Mesa HQ. Here you will work on core product development for complex systems, including but not limited to optical systems, batteries, mechanisms, control systems, and sensors. The role requires high ownership and frequent collaboration with other core disciplines. The ideal candidate would be practical, hands-on and a self starter. High growth potential is possible as well as additional leadership opportunities.


WHAT YOU'LL DO
  • Execute rapid evaluation of engineering concepts in a wide range of fields
  • Identify partners in industry to engage with, and manage early vendor relationships
  • Perform trade studies and physics-based analysis of blue-sky engineering problems
  • Manage internal and external market research and comparisons
  • Design, implementation, and test of complex electro-mechanical systems
  • High level system ownership with large levels of professional autonomy
  • Lead design reviews, run analysis, visit vendors, define and execute hardware test plans
  • Build prototypes, analyze failures, and transition successful projects into production
  • Support critical hardware demonstrations with customers as needed
  • Travel to test sites as needed
  • Use first principles physics as a basis for every decision
  • Wear many hats

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
  • Experience in an immersive technical project (collegiate project teams or professional settings)
  • Demonstrated leadership skills (collegiate project teams or professional settings)
  • 3+ years of electrical/design experience in a professional setting
  • Experience in PCB design and any ECAD (Altium, KiCAD, etc)
  • Hands-on prototyping (soldering, board assembly, harnessing)
  • Experience with any: controls/actuation, robotics, and or motor/servo drive systems (BLDC/brushed motor controller design and servo control systems)
  • Familiarity with microcontrollers, power conversion and system integration
  • Ability to read, interpret, and manipulate schematics, wiring diagrams, and layouts.
  • High competence with, and fluid use of, engineering first principles
  • Strong organizational skills
  • BS, MS or PhD in an engineering field, or equivalent work experience
  • Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Top Secret security clearance

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
  • Experience in bare metal microcontroller design (STMicro, TI, NXP, etc) from schematic to bringup
  • Outstanding leadership and interpersonal skills
  • Familiarity with designing for rugged environments
  • Experience in bringing up device trees on embedded systems with a variety of connected sensors
  • Experience with Electro-Mechanical and Electrical design concepts
  • Experience in developing a variety of electronics hardware products (UAVs, wearables, firearms, high power electric propulsion, optical systems, or other complex mechanisms)
  • Experience in characterizing circuits at both schematic and board level
  • Familiarity with wireless communication protocols
  • Experience with microcontroller wired communication protocols (USB, MIPI CSI2, SPI, I2C, CAN, CANFD, UART/RS232/RS422/RS485)
  • Practical experience with electrical engineering tools (Oscilloscopes, power supplies, electronic loads, multimeters)

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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