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Anduril Industries, a defense technology company, seeks a Manufacturing Optimization Manager to drive continuous improvement and operational excellence across US manufacturing sites. This role reports to senior manufacturing leadership and focuses on implementing lean manufacturing systems, coaching frontline leaders, and resolving operational challenges to enhance efficiency, quality, and throughput.
Key responsibilities include establishing scalable operating systems with tiered accountability, daily management, and KPI tracking aligned to safety, quality, delivery, and cost. You will strengthen cross-functional execution by integrating Operations, Quality, Manufacturing Engineering, Supply Chain, and Test into shared problem-solving efforts. The role emphasizes standardizing processes to reduce variation, improve first-pass yield, and enable predictable staffing models.
You will drive continuous improvement using structured problem-solving methodologies (A3/8D), waste elimination, and targeted kaizen initiatives. The position requires leading rapid triage on critical constraints and escapes across Anduril facilities, stabilizing safety/quality events, throughput losses, and schedule risks using standard escalation playbooks. Coaching and developing Managers, Supervisors, and Team Leaders through daily Gemba walks, leader standard work, and structured feedback is essential.
Additionally, you will capture and deploy best practices across lines, cells, and sites via playbooks and standard work libraries, and develop practical tools and structures (dashboards, hour-by-hour boards, problem queues) that improve visibility and decision speed.
Required: 5+ years manufacturing and production operations experience; 2+ years in a supervisor or production operations lead/manager role in high-volume production; full understanding of product life cycle (NPI to scaled production), LEAN principles, and change management; ability to interpret technical documentation; excellent communication and organizational skills; passion for employee development; process and equipment troubleshooting expertise; MS Office proficiency; and eligibility to obtain and maintain a US Secret security clearance.
Preferred: Aircraft NPI experience, Associate's or Bachelor's degree in technical field, Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification, AS9100 standards and OSHA knowledge, Top Secret clearance eligibility, small electronic assembly and drone experience.
Travel up to 50% required for training, cross-site collaboration, and supporting continuous improvement initiatives. Relocation assistance may be available.
