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Salary: USD 166,000 - 220,000 / annual
Anduril Industries, a defense technology company, seeks a Staff Manufacturing Engineer for Propulsion to serve as a subject matter expert on propulsion system manufacturing across the Air Dominance & Strike (AD&S) portfolio. This role covers the full spectrum of propulsion technologies relevant to autonomous aircraft, cruise missiles, and loitering munitions—including air-breathing jet turbines, ramjets, and solid rocket motors.
You will be responsible for ensuring that propulsion hardware can be manufactured, assembled, tested, and integrated at production rate with the quality and reliability required by defense programs. Your deep expertise in manufacturing processes, materials, and quality requirements specific to propulsion systems will be critical. You will know what can go wrong in propulsion production and how to prevent it through design influence, process control, and supplier qualification.
Key responsibilities include:
- Serve as propulsion manufacturing engineering subject matter expert across AD&S programs, covering air-breathing turbines, ramjets, and solid rocket motors
- Evaluate propulsion system designs for manufacturability, assembly, and cost; lead or support DFM/DFA reviews and drive design changes that improve producibility
- Work directly with design engineers and program manufacturing engineers to translate propulsion manufacturing constraints into actionable design feedback
- Assist in selection and qualification of propulsion suppliers and contract manufacturers; assess manufacturing capability, process maturity, quality systems, and cost competitiveness
- Conduct or participate in supplier manufacturing assessments including facility reviews, process audits, special process qualification, and production readiness evaluations
- Develop and maintain manufacturing process requirements and standards for propulsion-specific processes (turbine component manufacturing, combustor and hot section fabrication, solid propellant mixing and casting, nozzle manufacturing, propulsion system assembly and integration)
- Support propulsion system test campaigns from a manufacturing engineering perspective—hardware preparation, instrumentation integration, acceptance test criteria, and post-test anomaly investigation
- Develop or contribute to should-cost models and cost-driver analyses for propulsion assemblies and components
- Partner with quality engineering to define inspection plans, acceptance criteria, and process controls specific to propulsion hardware
- Collaborate with supply chain to align propulsion manufacturing requirements with sourcing strategy
- Close the loop between production and test feedback, supplier performance data, and upstream design and process improvements
- Build and maintain propulsion manufacturing knowledge within the ME organization through training materials, lessons-learned databases, and technical reference documents
- Mentor and develop junior and mid-level engineers on propulsion manufacturing principles and supplier assessment methods
- Travel to production sites, propulsion suppliers, and test facilities (~20%, depending on business needs)
REQUIREMENTS:
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, or related field
- 12+ years of experience in propulsion manufacturing, propulsion engineering, or closely related manufacturing discipline with expertise in at least one propulsion type: air-breathing turbines, ramjets, or solid rocket motors
- Strong technical knowledge of propulsion-specific manufacturing processes relevant to your area of expertise (investment casting and single-crystal blade production, combustor and hot section fabrication including welding/brazing/thermal barrier coatings, solid propellant formulation/mixing/casting/curing, nozzle and throat insert manufacturing, ramjet combustor and inlet manufacturing, or propulsion system assembly/integration/acceptance testing)
- Experience evaluating propulsion designs for manufacturability and translating findings into measurable improvements
- Experience evaluating or qualifying propulsion suppliers, including special process qualification and production readiness assessments
- Understanding of cost drivers in propulsion production with experience building or contributing to should-cost models
- Ability to read and critically evaluate propulsion system drawings, specifications, and test requirements for manufacturing implications
- Working knowledge of relevant propulsion standards and specifications (MIL-STD, SAE AMS, JANNAF, AIAA standards as applicable)
- Proven ability to work cross-functionally across design engineering, manufacturing engineering, test engineering, supply chain, quality, and operations
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including ability to present technical findings to engineering leadership and drive alignment on design and process changes
- Comfortable working across multiple programs simultaneously in a fast-paced, high-growth environment
- Hands-on experience with propulsion hardware in a production, test, or integration environment
- Must be a U.S. Person due to required access to U.S. export controlled information or facilities
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Master's degree or PhD in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, or propulsion-related field
- Deep expertise spanning two or more propulsion types (turbines, ramjets, solid rocket motors)
- Experience in aerospace or defense propulsion production, particularly with qualified or flight-critical hardware
- Familiarity with AS9100/AS9102 quality management systems and their application to propulsion hardware
- Experience with energetic materials handling, storage, and safety requirements for solid rocket motor production
- Knowledge of propulsion system qualification processes (ground test, environmental qualification, lot acceptance testing)
- Background in advanced materials and processes relevant to propulsion: superalloys, ceramics, ablatives, composite overwrap, thermal protection systems
- Proficiency in CAD software (NX, CATIA, SolidWorks, or similar) sufficient to review designs independently
- Experience with value engineering or formal cost reduction programs in a propulsion production environment
- Currently possesses and is able to maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance with Full-Scope Polygraph
