Chenguang Gong, 59, of San Jose, California, was accused of transferring more than 3,600 files from the research and development company where he worked to his personal storage devices.

Gong pleaded guilty in a central California district court on Monday to one count of theft of trade secrets and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

Sentencing was set for Sept 29.

Gong, who became a US citizen in 2011, worked briefly in 2023 as an engineer at a Los Angeles-area research and development company, the justice department said.

The company was not identified.

Among the files Gong downloaded were blueprints for infrared sensors designed for use in space-based systems to detect nuclear missile launches and track ballistic and hypersonic missiles, the justice department said.

Also stolen were blueprints for sensors designed to enable US military aircraft to detect incoming heat-seeking missiles and take countermeasures.

The justice department said Gong, while employed at several major technology companies in the US between 2014 and 2022, had submitted applications to join so-called “Talent Programs” funded by the Chinese government.

The programmes are designed to identify individuals with “expert skills, abilities, and knowledge of advanced sciences and technologies” that can advance the Chinese economy and military capabilities, it said.