Manufacturing Engineer, Autonomous Airpower

Employer 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

The Air Dominance and Strike Division is one of Anduril’s fastest growing, most technically complex divisions. We develop and build collaborative combat aircraft, missiles, and the software that powers these autonomous weapons. We are scaling production of autonomous aircraft across our manufacturing facilities. 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.

ABOUT THE JOB

Anduril is seeking a Manufacturing Engineer to join the Autonomous Airpower manufacturing team in Costa Mesa, California. You will support the manufacturing value chain for autonomous aircraft hardware — helping build the processes, documentation, and production capabilities that take hardware from design to the factory floor. This role spans the full breadth of manufacturing engineering disciplines and may focus on one or more of the following 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.

This is a hands-on role for someone with a few years of manufacturing experience who is ready to take on more responsibility. You will work alongside senior manufacturing engineers, design engineers, and production technicians to build real aircraft hardware and develop the processes that make it repeatable. You will independently modify and improve manufacturing processes, analyze production data to drive decisions, and contribute to process documentation with increasing ownership. If you want to be on the floor as much as at your desk, this is it.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

• Support the manufacturing value chain for assigned aircraft subsystems or assemblies — contributing to process development, work instruction authoring, and production support
• Independently modify and enhance manufacturing processes to improve efficiency and quality metrics on the production line
• Author and maintain work instructions, quality plans, and inspection documentation with guidance from senior MEs
• Analyze production data to identify trends and recommend data-driven process adjustments that reduce cycle times and increase throughput
• Provide DFM/DFA input to design engineering — learning to identify manufacturability issues early and communicate them effectively
• Support production builds on the floor — troubleshooting issues with technicians, documenting lessons learned, and iterating on processes
• Develop and document standardized procedures that enhance manufacturing consistency and quality across build sequences
• Assist with tooling definition and work with tooling engineers to validate fixtures and jigs for production use
• Participate in root cause analysis for manufacturing non-conformances and help drive corrective actions
• Support manufacturing BOM development and maintain accurate production documentation in PLM/ERP systems

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

• 2+ 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
• Foundational understanding of manufacturing processes — machining, assembly, composites, or electrical integration
• Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, specifications, and CAD models
• Experience analyzing production data and recommending process improvements
• Willingness to work hands-on in a production environment alongside technicians
• Strong communication skills — able to document processes clearly and work across engineering and production teams
• Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Hands-on experience supporting production or prototype builds on a factory floor in aerospace or defense
• Exposure to one or more of the following: composite structures, mechanical systems, fluid systems, propulsion, avionics integration, or wire harness manufacturing
• Experience with CAD tools (CATIA, SolidWorks, NX, or equivalent)
• Experience with aircraft, UAV, or autonomous vehicle assembly
• Familiarity with Lean manufacturing concepts or structured problem-solving methods
• Familiarity with PLM/ERP systems (Teamcenter, SAP, Oracle, or similar)
• Active U.S. Secret security clearance

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 [email protected]. 

• 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 [email protected]. Your proactive caution is invaluable in protecting your personal information and upholding the security and trustworthiness of our recruitment efforts.

Data Privacy

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.