Program associate Jobs in Santa Ana, CA

Technical Program Manager

Costa Mesa, California, United States

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

Here you will work on core product development for rotorcraft and complex systems, including but not limited to avionics, batteries, mechanisms, structures, sensors and payloads. The role requires high ownership and frequent collaboration with other core disciplines. The ideal candidate would be practical, hands-on and a self starter.

About The Job

Anduril is seeking a Technical Program Manager to join the Maneuver Dominance team at our Costa Mesa HQ. The Maneuver Dominance (MD) Team at Anduril develops aerial robotic systems designed to operate in large coordinated teams in concert with ground maneuver forces. We develop perception, autonomy, and command and control (C2) systems to solve some of the hardest problems facing our customers.

What You'll Do

• Lead an integrated, cross-functional program team of hardware, software, and systems engineers to deliver capability that exceeds customer expectations
• Own the entire lifecycle of technical initiatives, from defining requirements and creating project plans to final deployment and integration on helicopter platforms
• Serve as the primary owner and liaison between technical teams, business stakeholders, and customers
• Partner deeply with engineering leaders to drive program execution, unblock technical challenges, and accelerate cross-team projects
• Deeply understand mission requirements and master technical concepts to identify key dependencies, trade-offs, and risks related to airborne sensor integration and data fusion
• Coordinate and execute frequent test events, from hardware-in-the-loop simulations to live flight demonstrations
• Proactively identify potential technical and operational risks, develop mitigation plans, and drive issues to resolution before they become blockers
• Foster a culture of extreme ownership and a bias toward action within the program team

Required Qualifications

• B.S. in Electrical, Computer, Aerospace, Mechanical Engineering, or equivalent.
• 5+ years of relevant industry experience in engineering, systems integration, or technical program management.
• Demonstrated experience executing program management or engineering responsibilities for sophisticated hardware and software systems
• Strong understanding of systems engineering, environmental considerations, and requirements verification and validation, particularly for aerospace or defense applications
• Proven experience delivering complex solutions in highly regulated environments (e.g., DoD).
• Ability to inspire and guide teams, build consensus, and influence without direct authority.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a U.S. Security Clearance

Preferred Qualifications

• Proven experience leading multi-disciplinary engineering teams to the successful completion
• Direct experience with the integration of C4ISR systems, sensor payloads (e.g., EO/IR, SIGINT), or secure data links onto airborne platforms.
• Strong technical aptitude and an ability to understand technical designs, software development lifecycles, challenges, and risks.
• Practical familiarity with both Agile and Waterfall methodologies and an ability to apply them where best suited
• Experience with tools like JIRA and Confluence
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate complex technical issues into non-technical terms

US Salary Range

$166,000 - $220,000 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. 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

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.