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Salary: USD 146,000 - 194,000 / annual
Anduril Industries, a defense technology company, is seeking a Senior Manufacturing Engineer to join the Autonomous Airpower division in Costa Mesa, California. The Air Dominance and Strike Division develops and builds collaborative combat aircraft, missiles, and the software powering autonomous weapons systems. This role is critical to scaling production of autonomous aircraft across manufacturing facilities.
You will lead the development and implementation of complex manufacturing processes from concept to production for autonomous aircraft hardware. Operating independently with full accountability, you will own outcomes for your subsystems and lead multiple high-impact projects simultaneously. You will drive technical decisions that shape how hardware gets built and serve as a technical resource and mentor for the broader manufacturing engineering team.
Key responsibilities include:
- Lead development and implementation of complex manufacturing processes for autonomous aircraft subsystems
- Own the manufacturing value chain end-to-end, from design-for-manufacturability (DFM) input through process development, work instruction authoring, tooling definition, and production support
- Design and execute process improvements that optimize workflow and increase production capacity
- Develop technical roadmaps for manufacturing technology advancement aligned with program and business objectives
- Establish engineering standards and best practices for the manufacturing engineering organization
- Lead root cause analysis and corrective action (RCCA) for manufacturing non-conformances
- Manage capital expenditure projects from justification through implementation and validation
- Drive production readiness activities including material bills of materials (MBOMs), process capability assessments, and rate-readiness planning
- Lead cross-functional teams to resolve complex manufacturing issues spanning engineering, supply chain, quality, and production
- Mentor and develop junior and mid-level manufacturing engineers
The role spans the full breadth of manufacturing engineering disciplines and may focus on one or more areas depending on your background: structures and composites, mechanical systems (landing gear, doors, actuators), fluid systems (hydraulic, fuel, pneumatic), propulsion integration, avionics, or harnessing and electrical integration.
REQUIREMENTS:
- 7+ years of manufacturing engineering experience in aerospace, defense, or complex hardware production environments
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Aerospace, Manufacturing, Electrical, or Industrial Engineering or equivalent hands-on manufacturing experience
- Demonstrated ownership of manufacturing processes end-to-end, from process development through production support
- Track record of leading process improvements that delivered measurable gains in quality, throughput, or cost
- Experience managing capital projects and production budgets
- Proficiency with CAD tools (CATIA, SolidWorks, NX, or equivalent) and production planning systems (ERP, MES, PLM)
- Strong design-for-manufacturability (DFM) and design-for-assembly (DFA) instincts with demonstrated ability to influence design decisions
- Experience leading cross-functional teams and mentoring engineers
- Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Experience in composite structures, mechanical systems (landing gear, flight controls, doors), fluid systems (hydraulic, fuel, pneumatic), propulsion, avionics integration, or wire harness manufacturing
- Experience transitioning hardware from prototype or first-article builds to rate production
- Experience with aircraft or autonomous vehicle assembly
- Knowledge of AS9100 aerospace quality systems and non-conformance management processes
- Experience with Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, or structured continuous improvement methodologies
- Experience with Teamcenter, SAP, Oracle, or similar PLM/ERP platforms
- Active U.S. Secret security clearance
