SlipstreamJobs tracks this role from the company's public career site. Apply directly on the employer's site.
Salary: USD 146,000 - 194,000 / annual
Anduril Industries, a defense technology company, is seeking a Lab Manager to oversee the day-to-day operations of its Space Manufacturing lab spaces across three locations in the Costa Mesa area. The Space Manufacturing team is responsible for assembly, integration, and test of ground support equipment, PCBAs, unit-level, and integrated systems critical to aerospace and defense operations.
In this role, you will own facility systems, cleanroom and contamination-control programs, safety protocols, equipment management, and material flow across three sites supporting development and low-rate builds of spaceflight hardware. You will build and lead your own team over time, starting as a working manager performing hands-on facility, cleanroom, and equipment work while hiring and developing technicians and specialists.
Key responsibilities include:
- Operating and maintaining lab spaces across three locations (gowning/anterooms, air showers, test bays, subassembly and assembly zones, storage) to prevent facility-driven downtime
- Building and leading the site support team (contamination-control, facilities/maintenance, lab technicians and specialists); hiring, setting direction, developing, and managing performance
- Serving as the single site point of contact for facilities at each location; coordinating building services, maintenance, repairs, moves, and space changes
- Owning the contamination-control program for each cleanroom (ISO 5–8 graded): gowning protocols, particle monitoring, cleanroom certification, and consumables management
- Coordinating cleanroom and facility systems (AHUs, environmental monitoring, compressed and specialty gases, building support systems) with facilities/maintenance and vendors
- Serving as the day-to-day safety point of contact: enforcing safe work practices, coordinating hazardous-material and specialty-gas handling, interfacing with EHS
- Managing lab equipment, assets, and material flow: asset tracking, calibration/metrology scheduling, preventive maintenance, tool/fixture readiness, receiving/kitting/stores/consumables flow
- Driving lab and facility standards and documentation: cleanroom operating procedures, gowning work instructions, safety procedures, certification/monitoring records
- Leading the transition of work into the new facility as it comes online; planning space, systems, and support-staff needs for each phase
- Partnering with AI&T, manufacturing engineering, and program teams to sequence work and keep WIP moving
REQUIREMENTS:
- 5+ years operating or managing a manufacturing lab, cleanroom, or comparable controlled production environment
- Bachelor's degree in engineering, a technical/science discipline, or equivalent hands-on experience
- 3+ years of hands-on experience operating or managing an ISO-classified cleanroom (ISO 5–8 or equivalent) or other contamination-controlled environment
- 2+ years working with cleanroom facility systems (HVAC/AHUs, environmental and particle monitoring, gowning and air-shower discipline, cleanroom certification requirements)
- Hands-on safety experience with hazardous-material and compressed/specialty-gas handling and storage, including 1+ year acting as a floor- or lab-level safety point of contact
- Experience managing lab equipment, a calibration/metrology program, and asset tracking across 50+ tools/assets (or comparable-scale lab), plus receiving/inventory/consumables flow
- Experience owning facilities and readiness for 2+ distinct lab or cleanroom spaces (or a multi-room/multi-building site) at once, including coordinating moves and stand-up of new space
- 2+ years leading or mentoring a team (formal management or team-lead), with the ability to operate as a working manager
- Strong organization and documentation discipline; able to build and enforce procedures and keep a lab audit-ready
- Willing to work on-site full-time in a fast-paced hardware environment, coordinating across engineering, operations, quality, and vendors
- Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance
- Subject to pre-employment and randomized substance screening
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- 2+ years in aerospace, defense, semiconductor, medical-device, or optics/sensor manufacturing
- Familiarity with ISO 5 (Class 100) operations and open-die/optical/sensor assembly cleanliness requirements
- Experience standing up a new lab or cleanroom, or bringing 1+ new cleanroom phases/areas online
- Familiarity with quality and workmanship standards (e.g., IPC-610/620, AS9100, NASA-STD-8739 series)
- Experience coordinating EHS programs and specialty-gas/hazmat storage at scale
- Currently possesses and is able to maintain an active U.S. Top Secret security clearance
