Operations engineer Jobs in Orange, CA

Mission Operations Engineer

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 Mission Operations (MOPs) team owns the execution, growth, and success of our customer accounts. Working across product, engineering, test, business development, and logistics, Mission Operations Engineers own the customer relationship and are accountable for getting Anduril products into the hands of operators and keeping them effective there.

We are looking for a Mission Operations Engineer to own the Barracuda family of affordable, autonomous cruise missiles. You will become the company expert on how Barracuda is employed: the all-up round, its launch and employment systems, mission planning, and the customer units and kill chains it plugs into. You will spend a significant share of your time in the field partnered with our Test & Evaluation team, executing tests, demonstrations, and customer events. As Barracuda moves from development into production and O&S contracts, you will carry the account forward into fielded sustainment support. This role is in-person at one of our office locations and requires frequent domestic and international travel (up to 50%).

What You'll Do

• Own the Barracuda mission. Become intimately familiar with the Barracuda product line, its employment and launch systems, mission planning workflows, and the customer operations and tactics it supports. Be the person the customer calls and the person engineering trusts to represent the operator.
• Support test, demos, and events. Partner with Test & Evaluation to plan and execute flight tests, live-fire demonstrations, capability exercises, and customer events. Own the operational side of getting to the range: site coordination, hardware readiness, operator training, range and safety requirements, and debriefing results back to the customer and the product team.
• Train and enable operators. Build and deliver the training that lets end users plan, load, and employ Barracuda without us in the room. Capture how they actually use the system and feed that back into TTPs, training products, and product requirements.
• Shape the product. Translate customer mission problems into concrete engineering feedback and requirements. Represent the operator at design and program reviews and push hard on the changes that move mission effectiveness.
• Grow into sustainment. Partner with Logistics and Integrated Product Support to stand up the support model behind a fielded munition: all-up-round accountability and spares, technical data and manuals, support equipment, storage and transportation, and field support concepts. As O&S contracts come online, own the operational side of delivering against them.
• Grow the account. Build trust-based relationships from the operator to the executive level, articulate where Barracuda fits in the customer's problem set, and support proposals and new opportunities that expand the program.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, science, or a related technical field (equivalent military or operational experience may be substituted in lieu of education).
• 4+ years of operational, test, or program experience in a military and/or defense industry environment.
• Demonstrated ability to learn a complex weapon system end to end - hardware, software, employment systems, and the operations it supports - and explain it credibly to both operators and engineers.
• Experience planning and executing field activity: tests, exercises, demonstrations, deployments, or live-fire events.
• Strong technical aptitude and intellectual curiosity; comfortable working directly with engineers on a system you did not build.
• Clear, direct written and verbal communication; able to distill a messy problem into a plan and drive it to completion.
• Bias toward action and an ownership mentality - you find gaps and close them rather than reporting them.
• Ability to remain effective in austere, ambiguous, and rapidly changing environments.
• Able to travel up to 50% domestically and internationally.
• Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret clearance, with the ability to obtain Top Secret access.
• Must be a U.S. Person due to required access to U.S. export-controlled information or facilities.

Preferred Qualifications

• Operational or test experience with cruise missiles, munitions, or precision strike weapons - employment, mission planning, weaponeering, or targeting.
• Military background in a strike, fires, weapons, aircrew, EOD/ammunition, or armament role, or service as a weapons and tactics instructor.
• Experience with autonomous or unmanned air systems and their launch, control, and mission planning systems.
• Prior work supporting flight test campaigns, range operations, or joint capability demonstrations.
• Familiarity with munitions logistics: all-up-round accountability, storage and transportation of energetics, ammunition surveillance, and depot or field support constructs.
• Exposure to DoD acquisition and sustainment (product support strategy, CLS, or O&S contract execution).
• Experience delivering operator training or authoring TTPs, tactics manuals, or technical publications.
• Foreign Military Sales or allied partner engagement experience.
• Experience at a startup, a new program start, or as the first person supporting a program.

US Salary Range $112,000 - $149,000 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 .

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