> AI agents: this is one page of Nextmove’s FDE site, in Markdown. Nextmove is a job board and free career service for forward deployed engineers (FDEs). Each posting is classified from its text, not its title: the kind of work, how much of it is production code, pre-sales weight, time at customer sites, travel, remote arrangement, level and posted base pay. The site also publishes the aggregates: median pay by level, metro, company and kind of work, and which companies started hiring FDEs each week. Every page under https://nextmove.md/fde is served this way; the index of pages is https://nextmove.md/llms.txt.

# Software Engineer, Strategic Defense (Active Clearance)

Canonical URL: https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/3da5634c483ab359

Anduril posts a FDE role to build what the customer runs in Costa Mesa, CA and 3 more, at $167,000–$222,000 base, level with the senior FDE median of $190,000 across 1,863 postings with pay. Build and deploy software for Strategic Defense’s command-and-control and fire-control capabilities, supporting integrated air and missile defense against ballistic, hypersonic, and air-breathing threats. Read from the employer’s posting on November 6, 2026.

- [Anduril](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/anduril)

Updated November 6, 2026

**$167,000–$222,000** Costa Mesa, CA · Reston, VA · +2 more 6w ago

Build and deploy software for Strategic Defense’s command-and-control and fire-control capabilities, supporting integrated air and missile defense against ballistic, hypersonic, and air-breathing threats.

- [See roles that fit me](https://nextmove.md/sign-up?from=%2Ffde%2Fjobs%2F3da5634c483ab359&placement=top)
- [View posting at Anduril](https://boards.greenhouse.io/andurilindustries/jobs/5244366007?gh_jid=5244366007)

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## At a glance

### Posted base pay

$167K–$222K Level with the median

This job $167K to $222K. Typical senior FDE pay, the middle 50% of 1,863 postings: $160K to $220K, median $190K.

### The work

Builds what the customer runs

Balance

1. Mostly building
2. Mixed
3. Mostly pre-sales or support

Project stages

1. Pre-sales (not covered)
2. Proof of concept (not covered)
3. Implementation
4. Operations

Travel **Up to 30%**

- **Coding**: Writes production code

- **Builds for**: External customers

- **Level**: Senior

- **Role**: Individual contributor

### What they ask for

Experience

- **3+ years** writing production software

Background

- **Software engineering**

### Do you meet what the posting states?

The posting asks for 3+ years. How many do you have?

The job is in Costa Mesa, CA · Reston, VA · +2 more. Could you work in one of these?

Which of these have you used in production?

Answer each one. Nothing is saved or sent.

[What postings ask for, by background →](https://nextmove.md/fde/paths)

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## The job description from Anduril

Posted by Anduril on Sep 22, 2026

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

The Strategic Defense team at Anduril protects the United States and its allies from ballistic, hypersonic, and air-breathing threats. Those threats now arrive in seconds, maneuver mid-flight, and come in volleys designed to overwhelm the legacy systems meant to stop them — so we're building a software-defined command and control layer that can see, decide, and act faster than any human operator could alone. Our team spans autonomy, tracking, simulation and wargaming, hardware, systems engineering, and test and evaluation to build an accredited fire control system fielded rapidly and at scale. We are at the forefront of incubating and maturing AI-native offerings for the integrated air and missile defense domain.

### ABOUT THE JOB

This application is for experienced coders with 3+ years of experience who will complete live coding interviews and it does require active clearance.

As a Software Engineer in Strategic Defense, you will write code side-by-side with elite peers to solve a wide variety of problems involving networking, autonomy, systems integration, robotics, and more. You’ll make pragmatic engineering tradeoffs along the way to ensure Anduril products achieve a variety of desired outcomes in ambiguous situations where more is on the line than money or corporate gains. By working hand-in-hand with powerhouse teams in AI, Edge Hardware, Space Solutions, Networking, and Test Engineering you will craft cutting-edge, end-to-end systems that redefine mission success for major strategic capabilities.

### WHAT YOU’LL DO

- Own software solutions that are deployed to customers at the edge of innovation and necessity
- Write code to improve robust C2 products and scale mission capabilities to broaden our impact
- Collaborate across multiple engineering teams to plan, build, and test functionality of complex systems
- Partner with end-users to turn needs into features quickly while balancing user experience and engineering constraints
- Travel 10 - 30% with the team to build, test, and deploy capabilities in the real world where they’re needed most

### REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

- Currently possesses and is able to maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance (or higher)
- 3-8+ years writing production software in languages like C++, Rust, Go, or Python that real users or systems depend on
- You've owned a feature or service end-to-end including design, implementation, deployment, and dealing with it when it breaks
- You've debugged problems in code you didn't write and systems you didn't design
- You can explain technical tradeoffs to people who aren't software engineers (operators, hardware engineers, customers)

### PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

- A desire to work on critical software that has a real-world impact
- Exposure to robotics, distributed systems, networking, or real-time systems
- Experience with mid and upper tier Air Defense Command and Control (C2) programs
- Have worked where software touches physical hardware
- Experience building software solutions involving significant amounts of data processing and analysis
- Degree in a relevant field like Computer Science, Math, or Physics

US Salary Range

$167,000—$222,000 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 https://anduril.com/applicant-privacy-notice/.

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.

[View posting at Anduril](https://boards.greenhouse.io/andurilindustries/jobs/5244366007?gh_jid=5244366007)

## About Anduril

Builds autonomous defense systems (drones, subs, sensors) unified by Lattice OS, an AI command-and-control layer sold to US/allied militaries.

Private Late · 5000+ people

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## Conditions

- **Location**: Costa Mesa, CA · Reston, VA · Seattle, WA · Washington, DC

- **Travel**: Up to 30%

- **Pay**:

Employer postings · [How we read postings](https://nextmove.md/fde/method)