Program Chief Engineer, SIP

JOB TITLE: Program Chief Engineer, SIP LOCATION: Irvine, California, United States DEPARTMENT: AFS : Air Defense Engineering

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.

The SIP team is responsible for delivering mission-critical, theater-relevant capabilities across a complex portfolio of hardware, software, networking, sensor, command-and-control, third-party, and customer-furnished systems. The team operates at the intersection of product development, systems engineering, field operations, cyber authorization, customer delivery, sustainment, and business growth.

This team is not only responsible for building technology; it is responsible for turning ambiguous customer needs into real operational capability. That means rapidly creating new R&D products, integrating third-party systems, supporting proposals and task orders, establishing technical baselines, obtaining and maintaining ATOs, deploying systems into theater, and sustaining those systems once they are in the hands of users.

Anduril is seeking a Program Chief Engineer to serve as the technical owner for the SIP portfolio. This person will be responsible for driving the technical strategy, execution, integration, deployment, and sustainment of complex mission systems from concept through operational use. This is a high-ownership role for someone who can operate in ambiguity, make sound decisions with incomplete information, and move quickly without sacrificing technical rigor. The right candidate can take a problem from 0 to 1 quickly: define the architecture, align stakeholders, make the hard tradeoffs, unblock execution, create the plan, lead the team, deliver the product, and support the system in the field. The Program Chief Engineer will work across internal engineering teams, program leadership, business development, mission operations, cyber/security, manufacturing, logistics, field operations, third-party vendors, and government customers. This role requires someone equally comfortable reviewing an architecture diagram, leading a technical recovery effort, writing a BOE for a proposal, negotiating integration scope with a partner, briefing a customer, driving an ATO strategy, and troubleshooting deployed systems under operational pressure. Above all, this person must bring a mission-first, "Whatever It Takes" mindset: executing pragmatically, communicating clearly, owning outcomes, and making fast, technically sound decisions in support of deployed capability.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Serve as the technical owner and chief engineer for the SIP portfolio, responsible for system architecture, technical execution, integration strategy, fielding readiness, and sustainment outcomes.
• Lead end-to-end delivery of complex mission systems that include Anduril products, Lattice integrations, third-party hardware/software, customer-furnished equipment, tactical networks, sensors, effectors, compute, communications, and operational workflows.
• Translate ambiguous customer needs into executable technical plans, product requirements, integration roadmaps, test plans, fielding plans, and sustainment concepts.
• Take new capabilities from 0 to 1 quickly, including early concept definition, rapid prototyping, R&D product creation, integration, test, operational demonstration, proposal support, and transition into program execution.
• Make pragmatic engineering decisions with incomplete information, often with 60% of the data available, while clearly identifying risks, assumptions, tradeoffs, and decision points.
• Own systems integration across internal and external systems, including third-party sensors, payloads, effectors, communications systems, navigation systems, C2 systems, vendor platforms, and government-provided interfaces.
• Drive technical execution across hardware, software, firmware, networking, autonomy, cyber, manufacturing, logistics, test, deployment, and field operations teams.
• Build and maintain technical baselines across deployed sites, including configuration control, version tracking, site-specific deviations, integration dependencies, and operational constraints.
• Lead ATO/RMF strategy, creation, maintenance, and continuous authorization efforts, including coordination across cyber, product, program, customer, and mission operations stakeholders.
• Create and maintain technical artifacts required for program execution and customer confidence, including architectures, requirements, interface control documents, test plans, CONOPS, deployment guides, sustainment plans, risk registers, cyber documentation, and executive-level technical briefings.
• Support proposals, task orders, BOEs, RFP responses, customer white papers, and growth efforts by shaping technical scope, schedule, staffing, assumptions, exclusions, risks, dependencies, and delivery plans.
• Partner with business development and program leadership to shape new opportunities, assess technical feasibility, define product gaps, and convert customer needs into fundable, executable work.
• Lead engineering execution through design reviews, technical interchange meetings, integration events, field demonstrations, operational test events, cyber reviews, readiness reviews, and customer briefings.
• Drive theater-based deployment and sustainment of systems, including shipment readiness, site integration, spares planning, RMAs, field support, troubleshooting, training, operational handoff, and long-term sustainment processes.
• Own technical recovery when things go wrong: rapidly diagnose failures, coordinate cross-functional tiger teams, establish corrective action plans, brief leadership and customers, and drive issues to closure.
• Build scalable operating mechanisms for the program, including engineering rhythms, risk reviews, configuration control boards, integration readiness reviews, deployment readiness reviews, and sustainment feedback loops.
• Mentor engineers and technical leads across the program, raising the bar for ownership, communication, systems thinking, field awareness, and mission-focused execution.
• Travel to customer sites, test events, integration facilities, vendor locations, and deployed/theater locations as required to deliver and sustain operational capability.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, computer science, physics, mathematics, systems engineering, aerospace, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, or a related technical field.
• 8+ years of relevant experience in systems engineering, mission systems integration, defense technology, aerospace, autonomy, C2, tactical networks, cyber-physical systems, or deployed operational systems.
• Demonstrated experience serving as a technical lead, chief engineer, systems lead, or equivalent owner for complex hardware/software programs.
• Experience integrating complex systems of systems involving software, hardware, networking, sensors, communications, compute, autonomy, fielded equipment, and third-party systems.
• Experience taking ambiguous customer or mission needs and turning them into executable technical plans, architectures, requirements, schedules, test plans, and delivery milestones.
• Experience supporting deployed or operational systems, including troubleshooting, configuration management, field operations, and sustainment.