Lead Manufacturing Engineer, Drones

andurilindustries

Santa Ana, California, United States · Santa Ana · United States

Posted Apr 12, 2025

Full-time
Manufacturing : Manufacturing Engineering : Manufacturing Engineering

Job description

Anduril Industries is a defense technology company with a mission to transform U.S. and allied military capabilities with advanced technology. By bringing the expertise, technology, and business model of the 21st century’s most innovative companies to the defense industry, Anduril is changing how military systems are designed, built and sold. Anduril’s family of systems is powered by Lattice OS, an AI-powered operating system that turns thousands of data streams into a realtime, 3D command and control center. As the world enters an era of strategic competition, Anduril is committed to bringing cutting-edge autonomy, AI, computer vision, sensor fusion, and networking technology to the military in months, not years.

ABOUT THE TEAM:

Anduril’s Drones team is seeking a highly motivated and experienced Lead Manufacturing Engineer to join our rapidly growing team. In this pivotal role, you will be responsible for bridging the gap between cutting-edge design and efficient, high-volume production for our advanced Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) like Bolt, Ghost, Anvil, and future autonomous platforms.

As a Lead Manufacturing Engineer in Drones, you will support products from the early design phase, develop/improve the manufacturing process and support production ramps for several products. The diverse responsibilities of this role will require you to leverage your technical expertise as well as leadership skills to set objectives, build cross-functional teams, and drive rapid project execution. You will play a crucial role in optimizing manufacturing processes, reducing costs, and increasing efficiencies on existing technologies while also developing new products and scaling to full scale production.

WHAT YOU’LL DO:

Build, mentor, and lead a high-performing team of Manufacturing Engineers with deep product knowledge in mechanical, electrical, system integration, and end of line tests
Lead the transition of products from concept to prototype, pilot, and full production with speed, flexibility, scalability, and first-time quality
Provide daily sustaining support to ensure each product line performs as intended, including real-time problem-solving related to mechanical fitment issues, electrical and harnessing issues, as well as software and firmware issues
Work with cross functional team (design, quality, supply chain, etc.) during the development process to drive design for manufacturing best practices into the design effort, and help facilitate the transition from design to prototype to rate production
Own documentation required for successfully manufacturing product group hardware at scale, such as MBOM’s, work instructions & requirements, etc.
Uphold and advise on quality management and business application programs as they pertain to manufacturing within your area
Facilitate make versus buy decisions, and coordinate with internal supply chain teams to manage vendors to ensure quality deliveries on time
Contribute to end-customer hardware mechanical or electrical design, including interconnects, board fabrication and inspection, etc.
Analyze metrics for continuous improvement initiatives (cost reduction, QI reduction & capacity increase)
Instill a culture of innovation, teamwork, and accountability within the manufacturing engineering product team

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

Degree in a technical field such as engineering, math, or a hard science
5+ years in manufacturing or similar prototyping position
Demonstrated in-kind or direct team leadership skills, with backing examples
An attitude of world-class mission assurance, quality, attention to detail, and dedication
A genuine interest in manufacturing and thirst for learning
Demonstrated ability to creatively deliver hardware in a resource-constrained environment
Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

Experience building or transforming successful production operation organizations and leading large-scale change management initiatives that influence culture, define tools & processes and improve competencies.
Harness & PCBA fabrication experience including prior work with or setup/modification/monitoring SMT processes.
Experience leading and managing teams on fast-paced, complex projects.
Hands-on experience with R/C and/or autonomous flight vehicles, flight controllers, or other related control systems.
Software scripting experience in any language.
Experience in NX/Teamcenter

US Salary Range

$146,000—$194,000 USD

The salary range for this role is an estimate based on a wide range of compensation factors, inclusive of base salary only. Actual salary offer may vary based on (but not limited to) work experience, education and/or training, critical skills, and/or business considerations. Highly competitive equity grants are included in the majority of full time offers; and are considered part of Anduril's total compensation package. Additionally, Anduril offers top-tier benefits for full-time employees, including:

Benefits

At Anduril, we invest in our people. Our comprehensive, competitive benefits package (available at little to no cost to employees) ensures you’re supported in health, recovery, and whatever comes next. For more information, Explore Our Benefits.

Protecting Yourself from Recruitment Scams

Anduril is committed to maintaining the integrity of our Talent acquisition process and the security of our candidates. We've observed a rise in sophisticated phishing and fraudulent schemes where individuals impersonate Anduril representatives, luring job seekers with false interviews or job offers. These scammers often attempt to extract payment or sensitive personal information.

To ensure your safety and help you navigate your job search with confidence, please keep the following critical points in mind:

No Financial Requests: Anduril will never solicit payment or demand personal financial details (such as banking information, credit card numbers, or social security numbers) at any stage of our hiring process. Our legitimate recruitment is entirely free for candidates.
Please always verify communications:
- Direct from Anduril: If you receive an email from one of our recruiters, it will only come from an @anduril.com address.
- Via Agency Partner: If contacted by a recruiting agency for an Anduril role, their email will clearly identify their agency. If you suspect any suspicious activity, please verify the agency's authenticity by reaching out to contact@anduril.com.
Exercise Caution with Unsolicited Outreach: If you receive any communication that appears suspicious, contains grammatical errors, or makes unusual requests, do not engage. Always confirm the sender's email domain is @anduril.com before providing any personal information or clicking on links.
What to Do If You Suspect Fraud: Should you encounter any questionable or fraudulent outreach claiming to be from Anduril, please report it immediately to contact@anduril.com. Your proactive caution is invaluable in protecting your personal information and upholding the security and trustworthiness of our recruitment efforts.

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To view Anduril's candidate data privacy policy, please visit https://anduril.com/applicant-privacy-notice/.

By submitting your application, you consent to Anduril Industries using a third-party service provider to conduct pre-employment risk, integrity, and due diligence screening and assessing potential risks as part of your application process. This third-party service provider provides risk-intelligence services that may include analysis of sanctions and watchlists, adverse media, public-record information, and other lawful open-source or commercial data sources. This third-party service provider does not act as a consumer reporting agency. Use of this provider helps to ensure compliance with applicable laws and protect technology, intellectual property, and organizational security.