Snr Manufacturing Engineer [Mech/CI] Hardware

Frontdoor Defense; Sydney; Hybrid; AUD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity grants

Comprehensive benefits

Job summary

Anduril Industries in Sydney, NSW is seeking a Senior Manufacturing Engineer to own the factory-wide continuous-improvement program for electromechanical production. You will lead value stream mapping, Kaizen events, PFMEA, and align with mechanical design for tooling and fixtures to improve cycle times and yield.

The role requires 8+ years of manufacturing/CI experience, strong problem-solving, and ability to influence across disciplines.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in manufacturing with CI/Lean, PFMEA and supplier industrialisation in electromechanical production.
• Strong understanding of mechanical systems assembly and manufacturing processes.

Responsibilities

• Own the manufacturing CI program — lead value stream mapping (current-state and future-state), facilitate Kaizen and rapid improvement events, and drive yield improvement and scrap reduction initiatives from data through to verified countermeasure.
• Deploy structured problem-solving methodology (8D, A3, 5-Why) as a tool for production investigations. Partner with MEs/QEs and production techs on root-cause analysis for complex defects.
• Proactively identify production bottlenecks caused by line layout, work distribution, staffing shortages, and other production constraints by understanding Cycle Time and Quality Metrics.
• Identify and lead cost-reduction / cost-avoidance initiatives originating from the manufacturing process — tooling, cycle time, material utilisation, scrap-to-rework conversion.
• Own PFMEA development and cross-functional facilitation — bring production failure-mode insight from CI data into the PFMEA, and ensure Control Plans are linked and current.
• Author and maintain equipment and process SOPs — the operational documents referenced by product work instructions that define how to set up, operate, and verify production equipment.
• Be the interface between mechanical design and the production floor for tooling, fixtures, and production equipment — define requirements based on process needs, work with the mechanical design engineer to develop solutions, and own implementation and verification on the floor.
• Support capital equipment justification and business cases linked to rate ramp and automation needs.
• Work closely with QA and SC teams on supplier industrialisation — assess supplier manufacturing capability, facilitate Supplier Production Readiness Reviews, and conduct on-site process audits for critical and sole-source suppliers.
• Work with design engineers to embed Design for Manufacturing (DFM) features and principles in product design.
• Capture lessons learned from production and supplier events and actively disseminate them into NPI programs so the same failure mode is not designed back in.
• Foster a collaborative environment that encourages knowledge sharing and team engagement.

Skills

Continuous Improvement

PFMEA

Kaizen / Lean

Root Cause Analysis

DFM / DFA

Supplier Audits

Problem Solving (8D/A3/5-Whys)

MES/ERP knowledge

Tools

NX/Teamcenter CAD

MES/ERP systems

Job description

Snr Manufacturing Engineer [Mech/CI]

Develop and implement a factory-wide continuous-improvement program for electromechanical production

Location: Sydney, New South Wales

About The Role

Manufacturing Engineer

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 Job

You will own the manufacturing CI program and the methodologies that make production processes measurably better - cycle time reduction, line efficiency, PFMEA, value stream mapping, Kaizen events, and the metrics that track whether improvements stick. You will own the equipment and process SOPs that operators reference from product work instructions — the documents that capture how to safely and correctly operate production equipment, from cranes and robotic positioners and vac-purge rigs. You will also be the ME team's primary interface with mechanical design for production equipment: specifying requirements for tooling and fixtures, working with the design engineer to develop them, and verifying they actually solve the problem on the floor. The right person is comfortable influencing without authority and can work closely with SC and Quality assessing supplier manufacturing capability, conducting on-site process audits, and driving supplier process improvements so that parts arrive at the quality and rate we need. If you thrive in a fast-paced, resource-limited environment where the framework is yours to build, this role is for you.

What You'll Do

• Own the manufacturing CI program — lead value stream mapping (current-state and future-state), facilitate Kaizen and rapid improvement events, and drive yield improvement and scrap reduction initiatives from data through to verified countermeasure.
• Deploy structured problem-solving methodology (8D, A3, 5-Why) as a tool for production investigations. Partner with MEs/QEs and production techs on root-cause analysis for complex or cross-functional defects.
• Proactively identify production bottlenecks caused by line layout, work distribution, staffing shortages, and other production constraints by understanding Cycle Time and Quality Metrics.
• Identify and lead cost-reduction / cost-avoidance initiatives originating from the manufacturing process — tooling, cycle time, material utilisation, scrap-to-rework conversion.
• Own PFMEA development and cross-functional facilitation — bring production failure-mode insight from CI data into the PFMEA, and ensure Control Plans are linked and current.
• Author and maintain equipment and process SOPs — the operational documents referenced by product work instructions that define how to set up, operate, and verify production equipment (crane operations, robotic positioners, AGVs, vacuum and purge procedures, and similar).
• Be the interface between mechanical design and the production floor for tooling, fixtures, and production equipment — define requirements based on process needs, work with the mechanical design engineer to develop solutions, and own implementation and verification on the floor.
• Support capital equipment justification and business cases linked to rate ramp and automation needs.
• Work closely with QA and SC teams on supplier industrialisation — assess supplier manufacturing capability, facilitate Supplier Production Readiness Reviews, and conduct on-site process audits for critical and sole-source suppliers.
• Work with design engineers to embed Design for Manufacturing (DFM) features and principles in product design.
• Capture lessons learned from production and supplier events and actively disseminate them into NPI programs so the same failure mode is not designed back in.
• Foster a collaborative environment that encourages knowledge sharing and team engagement.

Required Qualifications:

• 8+ years in manufacturing or process engineering, with demonstrated experience in continuous improvement / Lean, DFX methodology, PFMEA and supplier industrialisation within a complex electromechanical production environment.
• Understanding of mechanical systems assembly and a variety of manufacturing processes for mechanical parts (CNC machining, sheet metal fabrication / welding, injection moulding, composite panel fabrication etc.).
• Demonstrated ownership of a CI or process improvement program.
• Fluent in structured problem-solving (8D, A3, DMAIC, 5-Why, Ishikawa) and process-risk tools (PFMEA, Control Plans).
• Hands-on experience leading DFM/DFA reviews and working with design engineers to drive producibility improvements before production release.
• Practical understanding of tooling, fixtures, and production equipment in a hardware manufacturing environment. You can specify what the floor needs and work with a designer to realise it.
• Experience assessing and developing supplier manufacturing processes — capability assessments, on-site audits, production readiness reviews.
• Ability to work across disciplines (electrical, mechanical, test, supply chain) and influence without direct authority.
• Ability to obtain and maintain an Australian Government Security Clearance (NV2).

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in defence or aerospace manufacturing — understanding of the compliance overlay on CI and supplier qualification.
• Experience with value stream mapping, Kaizen facilitation, and rapid improvement events in a production setting.
• Experience with MES/ERP systems and production analytics platforms.
• Experience building improvement programs in a scaling start-up or NPI-heavy environment where processes are still being established.
• Experience with CAD software (NX/Teamcenter)

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.