SlipstreamJobs tracks this role from the company's public career site. Apply directly on the employer's site.
Anduril Industries is a defense technology company transforming military capabilities through advanced autonomous systems, AI, and sensor fusion technology. The Manufacturing team produces next-generation Autonomous Underwater Vehicles globally, and the NPI (New Product Introduction) team owns the critical transition from design to production across the undersea product portfolio.
In this role, you will be the programmatic lead for new product entry across Anduril's undersea systems, deciding when a product definition is ready for factory production and orchestrating the cross-functional preparation so every team has the right data, in the right form, with sufficient lead time. You will hold schedules you do not directly control, influence without authority, and provide evidence-backed recommendations on production readiness.
Key responsibilities include:
- Owning end-to-end NPI plans and readiness schedules for assigned programs, aligning engineering releases, supply chain execution, and production work-ups against committed build dates
- Defining and assessing production readiness of product engineering, including completeness at gate entry, manufacturing baseline maturity, and readiness to commit long-lead spend
- Running cross-functional NPI planning forums that align engineering outputs to production system inputs, escalating issues and managing production starts
- Aligning internal Production scope to support readiness through quality plans, inspection instructions, work instructions, tooling, and fixturing
- Driving gate and Manufacturing Readiness Review (MRR) readiness with evidence that each function has met gate assumptions
- Representing Production at the Change Control Board to ensure changes entering production are understood against the build schedule
- Running DFx (Design for Manufacturing/Assembly/etc.) reviews to surface manufacturability opportunities early and flow production issues back into design
- Building the NPI function by publishing standardized guidance on engineering inputs, production-readiness checklists, gate-stage DFX criteria, and repeatable methods for multi-site coordination
- Owning factory-to-factory transfer for new production sites, flowing down NPI data so day-1 scope at receiving sites is planned rather than inherited
- Resolving emergent multi-site NPI issues including design-versus-production jurisdiction, supply chain alternates, and localization questions
- Tracking risks, issues, and actions with clear mitigation and escalation paths
The role is pooled across Platform, Payload, and Maritime Mission Systems programs in Australia and the US, with coverage assigned by build-start date and load. You will report to the NPI Program Manager within the Production – New Product Introduction job family.
REQUIREMENTS:
- Bachelor of Science in Mechanical, Manufacturing, Mechatronic, Industrial, or Process Engineering, or related technical field
- 5+ years of experience in a manufacturing environment, including direct involvement in New Product Introduction or design-to-production transition
- Demonstrated ownership of a product moving from engineering definition into a production environment against a committed date
- Strong programme and schedule management skills with proven ability to drive complex cross-functional work to a deadline
- Technical credibility to interrogate engineering releases (drawings, BOMs, configuration and change records) and form independent views on production readiness
- Working knowledge of manufacturing and quality systems, engineering change workflows (ECR/ECO), and BOM/PLM structures
- Outstanding communication and interpersonal skills; ability to influence and lead cross-functional teams without direct reporting authority
- Willingness and ability to travel internationally as required
- Ability to obtain and maintain an Australian Government Security Clearance
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Experience in defence, aerospace, maritime, or other highly regulated industries with strong understanding of rigorous quality and documentation requirements
- Experience supporting first-of-type or prototype-to-rate production transitions
- Exposure to multi-site or multi-jurisdiction manufacturing, including export-control and design-localization considerations
- Experience with eBOM-to-mBOM release flow and manufacturing baseline definition
- Experience working with international teams and navigating cultural differences
