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Salary: USD 166,000 - 220,000 / annual
Anduril Industries is seeking a Staff Manufacturing Engineer to join the Autonomous Airpower division in Costa Mesa, California. This is an enterprise-level manufacturing engineering role focused on scaling production of autonomous aircraft across manufacturing facilities.
You will drive manufacturing strategy and lead transformational initiatives that define how autonomous aircraft are built at scale. The role spans the full breadth of manufacturing engineering disciplines and may focus on structures and composites, mechanical systems (landing gear, doors, actuators), fluid systems (hydraulic, fuel, pneumatic), propulsion integration, avionics, or harnessing and electrical integration—depending on your background.
At this level, you are one of the most technically deep manufacturing engineers in the organization. You will architect production systems, develop multi-year manufacturing technology roadmaps, and lead enterprise-wide initiatives that fundamentally reshape manufacturing capabilities. You will direct large-scale programs with cross-functional and potentially cross-site impact, pioneer novel manufacturing approaches, and serve as the company's foremost authority in your area of specialization. You balance short-term production demands with long-term capability development and play a direct role in shaping the technical trajectory of the manufacturing engineering organization.
Key responsibilities include:
- Drive enterprise-wide manufacturing strategies for autonomous aircraft production aligned with long-term business objectives
- Lead transformational initiatives that fundamentally redefine or establish manufacturing capabilities for new aircraft programs
- Architect next-generation production systems that create sustainable competitive advantages in cost, quality, and throughput
- Develop comprehensive manufacturing technology roadmaps spanning 3–5 year horizons
- Direct large-scale, cross-functional manufacturing programs with enterprise-wide impact, managing complex capital improvement portfolios
- Establish manufacturing excellence frameworks and engineering standards that become organizational benchmarks
- Pioneer novel manufacturing approaches that deliver step-change improvements in cost, quality, or production rate
- Serve as the foremost technical authority in your area of specialization, providing definitive direction on the most complex manufacturing challenges
- Establish design-for-manufacturing frameworks in partnership with design engineering that reduce product costs and improve producibility
- Develop comprehensive technical career paths and mentor high-potential engineers across the manufacturing engineering organization
Anduril's Air Dominance and Strike Division is one of the company's fastest growing, most technically complex divisions, developing and building collaborative combat aircraft, missiles, and the software that powers these autonomous weapons. Manufacturing Engineering drives process development, production readiness, and the transition from prototype to rate—ensuring that what design engineers create can be built reliably, repeatedly, and at scale.
REQUIREMENTS:
- 12+ 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
- Recognized subject matter expertise in one or more manufacturing disciplines with a track record of enterprise-level impact
- Experience leading large-scale manufacturing programs or capital improvement portfolios ($2M+)
- Demonstrated history of developing and implementing manufacturing strategies that delivered transformational results
- Experience architecting production systems or leading new production line standup
- Strong cross-functional leadership skills—experience driving alignment between engineering, operations, supply chain, and business leadership
- Proficiency with CAD tools (CATIA, SolidWorks, NX, or equivalent) and production planning systems (ERP, MES, PLM)
- Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Deep expertise in one or more of the following: 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 through first-article to full-rate production
- Experience with aircraft or autonomous vehicle assembly at scale
- Experience developing proprietary manufacturing processes or methods with intellectual property value
- Knowledge of AS9100, aerospace quality systems, and advanced process control methodologies
- Experience working with Teamcenter, SAP, Oracle, or similar PLM/ERP platforms
- Master's degree in Engineering or related technical field
- Active U.S. Secret security clearance
