Senior Backend Software Engineer (Arsenal 2)

Title: Senior Backend Software Engineer (Arsenal 2) Location: Santa Ana, California, United States

ABOUT THE TEAM

Maritime Digital Production (MDP) is the software and digital systems function within Anduril's Heavy Metal division. We build and deploy the full technology stack that powers Anduril's shipbuilding factories: the data infrastructure that makes every machine and sensor visible in real time, the manufacturing execution system (ArsenalOS) that workers and planners use every shift, the scheduling engine that replans production in minutes instead of days, and the AI systems that eliminate manual toil from both the shop floor and business operations.
MDP operates at the boundary between Operational Technology and Information Technology. Our systems live where factory-floor machines, edge compute, and OT networks meet enterprise platforms and cloud infrastructure. We incubate solutions close to the production line, validate them with real operators building real hardware, harden them for reliability and security, and then scale them across multiple sites. The environment is fast, physical, and consequential. When our systems go down, production stops. The output of our work is not a dashboard: it is a ship.
This is not a support function. It is a strategic investment by Anduril in the premise that digitizing the manufacturing lifecycle end-to-end, from engineering definition through scheduling through execution through field feedback, is how Heavy Metal will out-build, out-adapt, and out-scale the traditional defense industrial base. MDP is scaling from a founding team to 70+ engineers across multiple U.S. sites. You will be joining early, working on hard problems with real operational stakes, and shaping how manufacturing software is built at Anduril from the ground up.

ABOUT THE JOB

As a Senior Backend Software Engineer on the Systems Integrity Group (SIG) initiative, you will build simulation and digital twin validation frameworks that verify manufactured output matches engineering intent. You will develop applications powered by Unreal Engine 5 for 3D visualization, create V&V automation tooling, and build interfaces that give engineering and operations teams data-rich, walkable views of the factory and production systems.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Build web applications that orchestrate simulation frameworks, digital twin validation, and V&V automation workflows for manufacturing verification.
• Develop UE5-based 3D visualization interfaces that ingest real-time data from the Unified Namespace and render data-rich, interactive views of factory operations, manufacturing processes, and production systems.
• Partner with manufacturing engineers and factory operators to understand production workflows and translate them into software requirements.
• Write production-quality code with comprehensive tests, participating in code review and architectural discussions.
• Design and implement tooling that verifies manufactured output matches engineering intent by comparing as-built geometry, assembly sequences, and quality measurements against design specifications.
• Build frontend and backend systems that integrate with simulation frameworks (OMNeT++, SimPy, Gazebo, CARLA) to enable factory co-simulation and "what-if" scenario testing.
• Develop automated V&V pipelines that run integration tests, validation checks, and compliance verification across design, manufacturing, and operations domains.
• Deploy and operate your systems in factory environments, including edge compute clusters and OT networks.
• Architect data pipelines that connect CAD models, PLM data, real-time factory sensors, and simulation results into unified visualization and validation workflows.
• Build responsive web interfaces for V&V dashboards, test management, requirements traceability, and system-level validation reporting.
• Leverage AI tooling (coding assistants, automation) in your development workflow and contribute to team engineering practices.
• Join an on-call rotation supporting production factory systems.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with simulation engineers, systems architects, backend engineers, and manufacturing teams to ensure seamless integration with MES, PLM, ERP, and enterprise systems.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• 6+ years of experience in a software engineering role building production systems, ideally in a fast-paced environment.
• Deep expertise in web development, with demonstrated mastery of backend systems.
• Strong technical fluency in modern software architectures, APIs, distributed systems, CI/CD, and cloud or edge infrastructure.
• Proficiency with backend web-based technologies including JavaScript/TypeScript, Python, Go, etc...
• Experience with real-time 3D engines (Unreal Engine, Unity) or advanced 3D visualization frameworks (Three.js, Babylon.js, WebGL).
• Experience building systems that must operate reliably under real-world operational constraints (high availability, low latency, or constrained environments).
• Strong understanding of 3D graphics, rendering pipelines, and data visualization for complex geometric or spatial data.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to collaborate across engineering, manufacturing, and operations teams.
• Degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
• U.S. Person status is required as this position needs to access export controlled data.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience in manufacturing, industrial, or OT-adjacent domains (MES, SCADA, PLC integration, factory automation, IoT).
• Hands-on experience with Unreal Engine 5 (or Unity) for industrial visualization, digital twin applications, or non-gaming applications such as training, simulation, or operations visualization.
• Experience building verification and validation (V&V) systems, test automation frameworks, or quality management software for manufacturing, aerospace, or defense.
• Background in computational geometry, CAD/CAM systems, or visualizing and comparing 3D geometric data (STEP, IGES, OpenCASCADE).
• Experience with simulation frameworks (OMNeT++, Simulink, SimPy, Gazebo, CARLA) and integrating simulation results into visualization or reporting systems.
• Familiarity with frontier AI tooling, AI coding assistants, and AI-enabled software development workflows.
• Experience in hyper-growth startup-like environments, with demonstrated success balancing speed, ambiguity, and long-term system health.
• Familiarity with enterprise systems such as ERP, MES, WMS, PLM, or requirements management tools (Jama, DOORS, Polarion).
• Experience with real-time data visualization, WebSocket-based architectures, or streaming data into 3D visualization engines.
• Experience in manufacturing industries with hands-on exposure to assembly lines or production environments.
• Understanding of digital twin architectures, federated simulation systems, or event-driven architectures at scale (Kafka, MQTT).
• Experience with GraphQL, real-time data subscriptions, or high-performance data streaming to frontend applications.
• Knowledge of requirements traceability, formal verification methods, or compliance frameworks in regulated industries.
• Eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. Secret security clearance.