Mission Autonomy Lead
Anduril Industries · Costa Mesa, California, United States
About this role
**Anduril Industries — Mission Autonomy Lead (Thunder)** ## About the Team The Maneuver Dominance team is building **Thunder**, an autonomous attack rotorcraft designed to operate alongside crewed combat aviation to deliver overwhelming mass effects deep beyond the front lines. The London team builds the **Mission System** and the autonomy that makes aircraft like Thunder work. ## About the Job You will **own the Autonomy software stack** within Mission Systems for a **maritime autonomous vehicle**, enabling autonomous mission execution. Reporting to the Mission Systems Lead, you’ll cover **system design, mission planning, mission operations, perception, debrief**, and **software development infrastructure**. You’ll define how the vehicle **plans, executes, perceives, and learns** from missions autonomously across long ranges of open ocean **beyond line of sight**. ## Responsibilities - Own the autonomy software architecture: **planning, execution, perception, and debrief** (using open, modular architecture standards such as **MOSA/WOSA** where applicable) - Drive design of **mission planning systems** for autonomous aviation operations - Drive **mission execution** software that manages vehicle behavior during missions - Own **perception systems** to sense and interpret the environment - Develop **mission debrief** capabilities for post-mission analysis and continuous improvement - Build and maintain software development infrastructure (**CI/CD, simulation, SITL/HITL**) - Define interfaces between the autonomy stack and vehicle management system using **MOSA** principles - Manage autonomy deliverables across development phases, including **MBSE artifacts** (e.g., SysML models, requirements traceability) as required - Provide technical mentorship to software and systems engineers - Drive development of **test and simulation fixtures** for autonomy validation - Represent the autonomy subsystem in technical and customer meetings - Interface with Mission Systems Lead and Vehicle Systems on integration - Travel up to **25%** to test sites and customer locations ## Required Qualifications - Bachelor’s degree in **Computer Science, Robotics, Aerospace Engineering**, or equivalent - **5+ years** experience in autonomous systems, robotics, or **AI/ML** - Experience delivering software through **full product development cycles** - Demonstrated experience with **autonomous navigation, planning, or perception** - Experience with **modeling, simulation, and SITL/HITL** testing - Experience developing **safety-critical/high-assurance** software - Proficiency in **C++ and/or Python** for real-time, mission-critical systems - Experience with **Linux-based embedded or real-time operating systems** - Experience with **version control and CI/CD** tooling (e.g., Git, Jenkins, GitLab CI) - Ability to obtain and maintain a **U.S. Secret security clearance** ## Preferred Qualifications - Experience with autonomous aviation systems (UAS/UAV or manned-unmanned teaming) - Working knowledge of **ROS/ROS2**, **behavior trees**, or mission planning frameworks - Experience with **computer vision**, EO/IR sensor processing, or airborne perception - Familiarity with distributed software architectures and **edge computing** - Experience designing to open systems architecture standards (**MOSA/WOSA**) for defense acquisition programs - Familiarity with **MBSE/digital engineering** tooling (SysML, Cameo, Jama, or similar) - Familiarity with containerization/deploy
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