Senior Mechanical Engineer, Test Fixtures, Thunder

The role

You will own the physical architecture, mechanical design, and rapid build of mission-critical test fixtures, structural test frames, and surrogate vehicle systems. You will lead the end-to-end design, analysis, and build of structural test fixtures and subsystem validation rigs to validate flight hardware.

What you will do

• Lead the end-to-end mechanical design, analysis, and build of structural test fixtures, environmental/vibration test adapters, surrogate aircraft frames, and subsystem validation rigs.
• Take hands-on ownership of prototyping test equipment, operating machine tools, coordinating with internal model shops, and assembling complex ground test setups.
• Engineer rugged, rigid, and safe fixtures capable of reacting severe static and dynamic flight loads.
• Collaborate with Test, Electrical, and Systems teams to package actuators, load cells, LVDTs, strain gauges, and fluid/power lines into test rigs.
• Partner with machine shops, material suppliers, and outside vendors to optimize designs for DFM.
• Perform rapid stress, deflection, and fatigue calculations to verify structural margins.
• Travel to test ranges, environmental labs, and flight line facilities to deploy, troubleshoot, and support ground testing and customer demonstrations.

Required qualifications

• BS or MS in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
• 7+ years of professional mechanical engineering experience, with significant focus on mechanical design, structural tooling, test fixtures, or dynamic test equipment.
• High proficiency in 3D CAD modeling.
• Detailed engineering drawing creation adhering to ASME Y14.5 GD&T standards.
• Strong first-principles foundation in structural mechanics, load paths, structural steel/aluminum design, weldments, and bolt joint analysis.
• Proven hands-on prototyping and shop fabrication skills (manual/CNC machining, sheet metal, welding, 3D printing, hand tools).
• Demonstrated ability to move rapidly from concept to physical hardware in low-cycle, fast-turnaround prototyping environments.
• Willingness to travel ~25% to support off-site integration, testing, and hardware demonstrations.
• Must be eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance.

Nice to have

• Direct experience designing aerospace qualification fixtures (shaker table fixtures, drop test frames, centrifuge fixtures, or static load test frames).
• Deep proficiency in Siemens NX and Teamcenter.
• Experience integrating test instrumentation, sensors, hydraulic/pneumatic actuators, or Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) test setups.
• Working knowledge of MIL-STD-810, DO-160, or aerospace structural qualification testing procedures.
• Familiarity with finite element analysis (FEA) for structural stiffness and modal/vibration response analysis.
• Experience with collegiate build teams (e.g., Formula SAE, Baja SAE, Design Build Fly).

Benefits

• Comprehensive, competitive benefits package available at little to no cost to employees.

Before you apply

• Must be eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance.
• 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.

About the company

Anduril Industries is a defense technology company with a mission to transform U.S. and allied military capabilities with advanced technology. The Maneuver Dominance team is building Thunder, an autonomous attack rotorcraft.