Freelance Mechanical Reliability Engineer Jobs in Riverside, CA

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 We are building the future of situational awareness. The Sentry platform integrates robotics, autonomy, hardware, and software to deliver mission-critical capabilities in defense and security. With a rapidly growing fleet and an expanding set of modular hardware platforms, our product organization partners closely with engineering, supply chain, manufacturing, and operations to deliver complex systems at scale. ABOUT THE JOB We're hiring a Systems Engineer, Reliability to own both electromechanical and software requirements validation and ensure that reliability analysis and testing are rigorously planned, executed, and closed across our portfolio of autonomous sensing products. You'll be the owner ensuring every requirement is traceable, verifiable, and validated - and that no system ships without the predictive analysis, qualification testing, and performance evidence to back it. This high-ownership individual will work across Systems, Hardware, Software, Test, Quality, and Manufacturing Engineering. The right person pairs a rigorous V&V mindset with reliability discipline: they can decompose ambiguous requirements, scope FMECA and qualification campaigns, drive root cause and corrective action, and present evidence confidently to engineering leadership and customers. WHAT YOU'LL DO * Own requirements capture, decomposition, traceability, and validation across cross-functional teams - every requirement has a verification method, a test, and an evidence trail. * Review system block diagrams, ICDs, and schematics for compliance, redundancy, and accuracy against requirements and concept of operations. * Ensure FMEA/FMECA is performed at the right depth and timing, and drive resulting product improvements to closure. * Plan and oversee predictive reliability analysis - probability of loss of control / loss of asset, MTTF/MTBF - using Anduril specifications and industry standards (e.g., 217Plus). * Develop and approve Qualification, ALT, and HALT plans; partner with Test Engineers to fixture, instrument, and execute campaigns; ensure test coverage maps back to requirements. * Partner with Quality and Manufacturing Engineering to confirm inspection and acceptance gates are documented against requirements and ready for hand-off to production. * Support Development Milestone Reviews (PDR, CDR, MRR) by defining entry/exit criteria and presenting V&V and reliability evidence REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS * Self-starter who enjoys creating clarity from vague requirements and CONOPs to ultimately deliver reliable, high-performing products. * 5-8 years of systems engineering experience across hardware and software, with demonstrated ownership of V&V and reliability on at least one program. * B.S. in Systems, Mechanical, Aerospace, or Electrical Engineering, Physics, Robotics, Mathematics, or equivalent. * Experience with rugged product design and verification. Military design experience preferred. * Strong skills in requirements construction, management, and traceability; test and evaluation; and verification and validation. * Hands-on with FMEA/FMECA, predictive modeling, Weibull analysis, and Fault Tree Analysis. * Experience generating qualification test requirements and executing tests to characterize product behavior. * Failure investigation experience with a track record of solving problems and preventing recurrence. * Excellent communication and presentation skills; comfortable with ambiguity and cross-functional collaboration. * Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS * M.S. in Mechanical, Electrical, Aerospace, or Systems Engineering. * Experience with MIL-STD-461 and 464, MIL-STD-810, MIL-HDBK-472, and MIL-STD-516C. * Experience with military robotics platforms. * Experience with HALT, ALT, HASS, environmental, and mechanical testing. * Experience with risk management, change control reviews, and HITL/SITL. * Background in robotics, autonomous systems, radar, optics, computer vision, wireless communication, SDRs, or networking. * Comfortable on Linux and the command line; strong Python and/or MATLAB for data parsing and visualization. US Salary Range $146,000 - $194,000 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. 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