Leaving a Defense Prime for Anduril: Pay, Equity, Taxes and Relocation
I'm Gabriel Motta, founder of Inclinevest Wealth Management in Greenwood Village, Colorado. I work with aerospace and defense professionals nationwide, including engineers and executives at Lockheed Martin, RTX, Northrop Grumman, L3Harris, and Boeing who are weighing an offer from Anduril.
Leaving a defense prime for Anduril can raise your headline pay while changing your tax bill, your retirement timeline, and how much of your net worth depends on one private company. Here's how to compare the two paths before you sign.
Gabriel Motta, CFP®, MBA
Founder, Inclinevest Wealth Management
Leaving a defense prime for Anduril is one of the most common career questions I hear from engineers and executives right now. The offer usually looks strong on paper: a higher total package, equity in a fast-growing company, and work on newer technology. The harder part is figuring out what that package is really valued at for your household after taxes, relocation, and the benefits you'd leave behind. People who've made the move describe a mixed picture: faster decisions, newer tools, and more ownership on one side, and steadier hours, a higher base salary, and fewer growing pains on the other, with most agreeing that the specific team matters more than the company name.
After 10, 20, or 29 years at one employer, you know exactly how your pay, pension or 401(k), and benefits work. A new offer replaces that certainty with a mix of cash and private-company shares, and the two parts behave very differently. This guide walks through how to compare them, with attention to how the work location changes your taxes, housing costs, and cost of living, whether the role is in Southern California, Ohio, or somewhere else.
Start with the guaranteed parts of each offer: base salary, bonus, retirement contributions, and benefits. Treat the equity as a range of outcomes, because shares can vest long before you can sell them. If the job means relocating, subtract the new state's income tax and any difference in housing costs from the raise. Then project five years under several equity outcomes, including one where the shares never become liquid. If you still reach your retirement goals in that case, you can consider the move from a position of strength.
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Why Prime Employees Are Looking at Anduril
Anduril has become a recognizable name across the defense industry, and recruiters have been active at established contractors. People mention the same reasons: faster development cycles, broader responsibility, work closer to new products, and equity that could grow if the company does well.
Staying at a prime has its own appeal. Many people value stable programs, defined benefits, long-standing relationships, and a pace that's easier to sustain. Neither choice is automatically better, and the experience can vary a lot by team, manager, and program at both kinds of employers. A role supporting field testing can look very different from one in internal engineering or corporate functions.
That's why the money side deserves a careful look. A decision made on the headline number alone can leave out the parts that matter most over a 10 or 20 year horizon.
Comparing a Prime Package With an Anduril Offer
Separate what you'll receive in cash from what's an estimate. An offer described as a total of $850,000 might include $325,000 of salary and bonus and $525,000 of equity at a stated value. Those two numbers shouldn't be added together as if they were the same kind of dollar. This example is illustrative only.
| Item | Established prime | Anduril offer |
|---|---|---|
| Salary and bonus | Known, with a history of bonus payouts | Stated salary; bonus terms and payout history may be less certain |
| Equity | Often publicly traded stock you can sell after vesting | Private shares with vesting, settlement, and sale restrictions |
| Retirement plan | 401(k) match, and for some tenured employees a pension | New employer plan with its own match and rules |
| Health and retiree benefits | Established coverage, sometimes retiree medical | Compare premiums, coverage, and any retiree benefits directly |
| Unvested awards | Forfeited if you leave, unless a buyout is negotiated | New grants that begin vesting from your start date |
| Liquidity | Cash plus saleable shares | Cash plus shares that may not be saleable on a predictable schedule |
If you're giving up unvested awards, ask whether the offer includes a sign-on grant or cash to replace them. Many people overlook this, and it can be a meaningful part of the negotiation.
Private Stock Compared With Cash
The biggest shift in moving to Anduril is the type of equity. Public stock at a prime has a daily price and a market where you can sell. Private shares have a stated value, but you can only sell them through a company-approved process such as a tender offer, an acquisition, or an IPO.
Vesting and settlement
Vesting means you've earned the award. Settlement is when shares are delivered, and that can create taxable income even if you can't sell the shares yet.
Liquidity
Tender offers can come with limits on who may sell, how many shares, and at what price. Plan as if a sale may take longer than you expect.
Valuation
A financing round, a 409A valuation, and a tender price are different numbers. None of them guarantees what you'd receive in a sale.
Concentration
Your paycheck, career, and shares would all depend on one company. Savings outside the company become more important, not less.
For a deeper look at how these pieces work once you're there, see my guide to financial planning for Anduril employees.
What You Give Up by Leaving a Defense Prime
The cost of leaving is easy to underestimate because it's spread across many small items. Add them up before you decide.
Items to price out
- Unvested stock awards and long-term incentive grants that would be forfeited
- Employer retirement contributions, and any pension you've accrued or would still be earning
- Retiree medical eligibility tied to age and years of service
- Bonus and promotion track you've already built
- Vacation accrual, severance protections, and tuition or other benefits
Someone with 25 years at a prime may be close to a benefit threshold that a few more years would improve. In that case, the timing of the move matters as much as the offer.
Where You'd Work: Taxes and Housing by Anduril Location
Anduril isn't a single-location employer. Headquarters is in Costa Mesa, California, and the company is adding a campus in Long Beach and Lakewood. Its Arsenal-1 manufacturing campus is in Pickaway County, Ohio, south of Columbus, and it also has offices in places like Boston, Seattle, Atlanta, and the Washington, D.C. area, along with factories in other states. Where your role sits can change the value of an offer as much as the offer itself, so confirm the exact location in writing.
| Location | State income tax on wages | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Texas (a common starting point) | None | Property tax rates are often higher than in many other states |
| Southern California (Costa Mesa, Long Beach) | Graduated rates; the top rate is 13.3% including the 1% surcharge above $1 million. Capital gains are taxed as ordinary income. | Housing in Orange and Los Angeles counties is generally much higher, and a purchase resets the assessed value for property tax |
| Columbus area, Ohio (Arsenal-1) | Flat 2.75% above $26,050 for 2026 | Many Ohio cities and some townships add a local income tax, so the specific address matters; housing is generally lower than in Southern California |
| Seattle, Washington | No tax on wages | Washington has a separate tax on certain long-term capital gains, which matters when you sell shares |
| Boston area, Massachusetts | 5% flat rate plus a 4% surtax on income above roughly $1 million | Housing costs are high, and equity settlements can push income toward the surtax |
| Atlanta area, Georgia | Flat rate | Compare housing and commute by suburb |
| Washington, D.C. area | Varies by D.C., Virginia, or Maryland residence | Where you live and where you work can fall in different jurisdictions |
The tax difference is easiest to see on the extra income. Moving from Texas to Ohio adds a state tax that's low by national standards. Moving to California adds some of the highest state rates in the country on salary and on stock that settles, and California gives capital gains no lower rate. If part of the offer is equity that settles each quarter, those settlements are taxed as they occur, which can push you into higher brackets than the salary alone suggests.
Housing needs the same scrutiny. A lower mortgage rate on the home you own now can be hard to replace, and a move from a lower-cost market to Orange County can add far more to your annual spending than a state tax difference does. If a role can be done from your current state, ask whether Anduril allows that.
Modeling Five Years Under Different Equity Outcomes
The most useful step is a five-year cash flow projection that compares staying with each version of the Anduril path. I build these with after-tax income, state taxes for the work location, a realistic housing cost, retirement savings, and a hypothetical quarterly vesting schedule. Then I change the equity assumption and see what happens.
| Scenario | What it assumes | The planning question |
|---|---|---|
| Stay at the prime | Current pay, benefits, and any unvested awards continue | Does this path already reach your retirement date and spending goals? |
| Anduril, no liquidity | Cash pay only; shares vest and may be taxed but can't be sold | Can you meet goals and pay equity taxes from cash compensation and savings? |
| Anduril, partial tender | Some vested shares sold at a tender price | How much is sold, what's the tax, and where do the proceeds go? |
| Anduril, leave after three years | Some equity vested, the rest handled under the award terms | Did vested equity offset the benefits and awards you gave up? |
The scenario that matters most is the second one. If your plan works without any equity ever becoming liquid, then every dollar of upside is a bonus. If the plan only works when the stock rises, the move adds risk to your retirement date.
Your age and assets shape the answer. Someone with 20 years of earning ahead and a strong base of savings has a different capacity for risk than someone five to ten years from retirement who needs every year of saving. I work with households in that 5 to 15 years before retirement window, where one career decision can move the retirement date by years in either direction.
Want this projection for your own numbers?
Bring your current package, the offer, and the work location. In a 30-minute call we'll walk through how each path could look over five years and what it means for your retirement date.
Career Fit and the Factors a Spreadsheet Misses
People who've made this move, in both directions, mention the same factors again and again. Those who favor Anduril point to faster decisions, newer tools including AI used in daily work, and colleagues who respond quickly. Those who prefer a prime point to a steadier schedule, overtime pay on some programs, a higher base salary, and less pressure to compete for new equity each year.
Both sides also describe downsides. At Anduril, people mention hours that creep up, managers who rotate quickly, and bureaucracy that's starting to appear as headcount grows. At primes, they mention slower decisions, hard-to-reach colleagues, and tools that vary a lot by program, especially on cleared work where AI access can be limited. Several say the gap is narrowing, since some primes now offer internal AI tools and some programs move at a startup pace. The common thread is that team and program matter more than the company name, so ask about the specific team: travel, testing schedules, hours, management, and how priorities change.
Some of this has direct financial consequences. A few people describe staying at Anduril until a grant vests and then returning to a prime, which makes your vesting schedule and the terms for leaving part of the decision. Longer-tenured prime employees also mention benefits that are no longer offered to new hires, such as pensions and large PTO balances, so confirm whether yours would be lost if you leave. And the view that you take the job for the equity rather than the benefits only holds if you can afford the outcome where the equity pays less than expected, which is why the five-year projection above matters.
Also consider what you want from the next 10 years. Mission, enjoying the work, and learning new technology are legitimate reasons to move, and they have value even when the financial picture is only equal. A plan can show you what each choice costs, so the decision rests on facts about your finances rather than guesses.
What to Decide About Your Retirement Accounts Before Your Last Day
After years at a prime, your 401(k) may be one of your largest assets, and changing employers forces a decision about it. Many people make that decision in the final week of their notice period, with a form from HR and little time to compare. Reviewing the options before you accept an offer gives you more choices and more time.
| Option | What it offers | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Leave it in your current plan | Familiar investments, and often institutional pricing | Fees, the investment menu, withdrawal rules, and whether you can still get help with decisions after you leave |
| Move it to Anduril's plan | One account to track | Whether the plan accepts incoming funds, its investment choices, and its costs |
| Move it to an IRA | The widest range of investments, and easier coordination with tax planning and future withdrawals | Costs, how creditor protection differs from a 401(k) in your state, and the age 55 rule described below |
Details that can favor one option
- Company stock in the plan. If your 401(k) holds shares of your employer, net unrealized appreciation rules may allow part of the gain to be taxed at capital gains rates. The rules are specific and the timing matters, so review them before you act.
- Age 55 or older. If you leave an employer in or after the year you turn 55, you may be able to take penalty-free withdrawals from that employer's plan. Moving the money first can give that up.
- Pensions and deferred compensation. Elections for a lump sum or an annuity, and payout timing for deferred compensation, are often tied to your separation date.
- Roth and after-tax balances. These can be handled differently from pre-tax money, and the order of decisions affects the tax bill.
The Anduril offer adds one more consideration. If a growing share of your future wealth will sit in one private company, the investments you hold outside it carry more of the load. The mix, risk, and tax treatment of your retirement accounts should be chosen with that in mind.
How we can help
At Inclinevest Wealth Management, we review each of these accounts alongside your offer, your taxes, and your retirement date. We'll tell you what we'd do and why, including when leaving an account where it is makes the most sense. For the accounts we manage, we build diversified, globally invested portfolios, handle the trading with taxes in mind, and keep the plan updated as your equity, income, and goals change. Your accounts are held at Charles Schwab, and we work alongside your CPA. Read more about how we approach 401(k) decisions for professionals changing employers.
Questions to Ask Before You Accept an Anduril Offer
Compensation and equity
- What type of equity is offered, and how do vesting and settlement work?
- When could taxes be due, and how much is withheld at settlement?
- What are the rules for selling shares, and how have past tender offers worked?
- What happens to vested and unvested awards if you leave?
- Is there a sign-on grant or cash to replace what you'd forfeit at your current employer?
Your household
- Where is the role based, and what's your after-tax raise once that state's taxes and housing are included?
- How would your retirement savings and employer contributions change?
- What will you do with your current 401(k), pension, and deferred compensation, and by what date?
- Do you still reach your retirement goals if the shares never become liquid?
- How much cash do you need outside the company to cover equity taxes?
Independent Advice, Custodied at Charles Schwab
Inclinevest Wealth Management is an independent fee-only fiduciary. Investment accounts are held at Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., which provides custody, trading infrastructure, and institutional support, so recommendations aren't limited to a proprietary product lineup.
Learn more about our investment philosophy.
See What the Move Means for Your Retirement Plan
If you're weighing an offer from Anduril, a 30-minute call is a good place to start. We'll talk through your current package, the new offer, your retirement accounts, and how a move would affect your taxes, savings, and retirement timeline. Inclinevest Wealth Management works with aerospace and defense professionals across the country on a long-term, whole-plan basis.
Frequently Asked Questions About Leaving a Prime for Anduril
Is it worth leaving a defense prime for Anduril?
It depends on the guaranteed pay, the benefits you'd give up, how your equity could settle and be sold, taxes, and how close you are to retirement. A five-year projection under several equity outcomes is the clearest way to compare the two paths.
How is Anduril stock compensation taxed?
For restricted stock units, the value of shares delivered at settlement is generally taxed as ordinary income, even if the shares are private and can't be sold yet. A later sale produces a capital gain or loss based on your basis. Your award documents and tax professional control the details.
How do taxes change if I relocate for an Anduril job?
It depends on where the role sits. Texas has no state income tax on wages. California taxes wages and stock compensation at graduated rates up to 13.3% and taxes capital gains as ordinary income. Ohio has a flat 2.75% rate above $26,050 for 2026, plus local income taxes in many places, and Washington has no wage tax. The impact also depends on your income, equity settlements, and the timing of your move.
What do I lose by leaving a company like Lockheed Martin, RTX, or Northrop Grumman?
Common items include unvested stock awards, employer retirement contributions, pension accruals, retiree medical eligibility, and bonus or promotion progress. Ask whether the new offer includes a sign-on award to replace some of it.
Can I sell my Anduril shares right away?
Not necessarily. Private shares are subject to transfer restrictions, and sales usually happen through company-approved tender offers or other liquidity events with limits on eligibility, timing, and amount.
How should I plan for retirement if I join Anduril?
Project retirement using cash compensation and diversified savings first, then add equity as a separate scenario. That shows whether your plan depends on a future liquidity event.
What should I do with my 401(k) when I leave a defense prime?
You usually have several options: leave it in the old plan, move it to your new employer's plan, or move it to an IRA. Each has different investment choices, costs, and protections. If the account holds company stock, or you're 55 or older, specific rules can favor one option, so review them before your last day.
Does Inclinevest Wealth Management work with defense professionals outside Colorado?
Yes. Inclinevest is based in Greenwood Village, Colorado and works with aerospace and defense professionals nationwide, mostly by video, with in-person meetings available when necessary.
Key Takeaways
- Compare guaranteed cash and benefits separately from the estimated value of private equity.
- Price out what you'd forfeit at your prime, including unvested awards, retirement contributions, and retiree benefits.
- State taxes and housing costs vary by Anduril location, from California to Ohio, so price the specific role location.
- Project five years under several equity outcomes, including one with no liquidity.
- Review your 401(k), pension, and deferred compensation choices before your last day, since age and company stock can change the best option.
- Team, role, and pace vary at every employer, so ask about the specific job.
Sources
- Publication 525, Taxable and Nontaxable Income, Internal Revenue Service
- Publication 551, Basis of Assets, Internal Revenue Service
- Topic No. 427, Stock Options, Internal Revenue Service
- Residency Status, California Franchise Tax Board
- Ohio legislation lowers top personal tax rate, implements flat tax in 2026, Ohio House Bill 96 summary
- Ohio Partners with Anduril to Rebuild the Arsenal, JobsOhio
- Anduril expansion in Long Beach, California, Manufacturing Dive
About the Author
Gabriel Motta, CFP®, MBA, is the founder and principal of Inclinevest Wealth Management, a fee-only fiduciary retirement financial advisor and financial planner. He works with high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth pre-retirees and retirees nationwide, with particular experience serving aerospace and defense professionals. As a retirement planner and wealth manager, Gabriel helps clients navigate retirement income planning, Social Security strategy, tax-efficient withdrawals, and equity compensation. Gabriel is a NAPFA and XY Planning Network member.
Learn more about Gabriel and Inclinevest Wealth Management or schedule a conversation.
