Principal Powertrain Engineer, Omen

About the role

Anduril is seeking a Principal Powertrain Engineer to join the Omen team at our Costa Mesa HQ. Omen is Anduril's hover-to-cruise autonomous air vehicle (AAV) that packs the endurance, payload, and mission flexibility of much larger airplanes into a novel runway-independent Group 3 platform. Omen can operate from ship decks, beaches, or remote island clearings, providing true runway independence and freedom of maneuver across defense and civilian domains. Omen is the first tail-sitter aircraft with a mass-production contract, with an order of 50 systems representing a decisive investment that anchors production and accelerates the development of future systems. You will work on new aircraft development in a lean, high-ownership culture where you directly shape the product and operate at a velocity to fly new designs within months, not years. In this role, you will design, develop, and integrate a high performance hybrid-electric propulsion system into the Omen air vehicle. You will own and design powertrain components from concept through production, optimizing for the unique demands of a tail-sitter platform including VTOL operations, efficient cruise flight, and rapid transition between flight modes. As a Principal Powertrain Engineer, you will work closely with program leadership and cross-functional teammates to deliver a high-performance, reliable propulsion solution. You will drive component selection, manage supplier relationships, lead testing and validation efforts, and ensure the powertrain meets performance, weight, thermal, and reliability requirements. This is a hands-on role where you will tackle hard technical problems, mentor junior engineers, and play a critical role in bringing a groundbreaking aircraft platform to operational reality. You will be a trusted subject matter expert in the design and development of our powertrain. Join our dynamic team and help us build the next generation of autonomous flight systems.

Responsibilities

• Own the design of hybrid-electric propulsion systems including motors, generators, battery packs, fuel systems, power electronics, and propeller/rotor integration
• Electric machine sizing and design, transmission sizing and design, inverter sizing and design, and how the full system integrates into the air vehicle.
• Conduct powertrain performance analysis, thermal modeling, and energy optimization studies to meet mission requirements for endurance, payload capacity, and operational envelope
• Lead the development and execution of test plans for powertrain subsystems and full-up systems, including ground test stands, HILs, and flight test
• Define and validate technical performance measures including power, efficiency, thermal limits, and fault tolerance across all operating modes
• Create detailed technical specifications and interface control documents for powertrain components and assemblies
• Collaborate with the Airframe and Vehicle Controls teams for solutions on system packaging, structural/thermal interfaces, and thrust/power control architectures
• Conduct design reviews, perform requirements analysis, and plan system verification to ensure compliance with project goals and industry standards
• Establish and manage supplier relationships for critical powertrain components, including technical requirements definition, design reviews, and qualification oversight
• REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
• High-ownership and a bias toward action - if you see a problem, you want to fix it
• Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineer, Robotics, Physics, or related technical discipline
• Minimum of 12+ professional years in technical leadership roles such as a Principal Engineer, Chief Engineer, or similarly relevant position focused on propulsion systems
• Experience in engineering team leadership and project execution for aerospace, automotive, or defense sectors with focus on electric or hybrid propulsion
• Proficiency in powertrain engineering skillsets including electric motors, transmissions, generators, power electronics, battery systems, and thermal management
• Hands-on experience with propulsion system development, testing, and integration for aerospace platforms
• Travel to test sites and vendors as needed
• PREFERR

Benefits

Additional Information

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.

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