Automation Engineer, Manufacturing Automation

Anduril-1; Costa Mesa (CA); On-site; USD 129,000 - 171,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity grants

Comprehensive benefits

Job summary

Anduril Industries is seeking an Automation Engineer to lead manufacturing automation efforts at our Costa Mesa site, focusing on end-to-end controls systems, OT security, and integration with MES/QMS. You will deploy and maintain OT infrastructure, develop PLC code for high-volume production, and collaborate across IT, Security, and Manufacturing teams.

The role emphasizes defense-grade security practices, network design, and hands-on wiring and automation tasks in a fast-paced manufacturing

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical/Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, Information Technology, or related field.
• 4+ years of controls and automation experience in a production environment.
• Proficient in PLC programming on Allen-Bradley and/or Siemens platforms.
• Proficient across OT stack — MQTT, OPC UA, TCP/IP, VLANs, industrial Ethernet, with packet-level analysis.
• Must be a U.S. Person due to access to U.S. export controlled information or facilities.

Responsibilities

• Own controls systems end-to-end as technical system owner—architecture, PLC/HMI development, commissioning, proof of rate, and sustainment handoff
• Deploy and maintain OT server infrastructure including, MQTT brokers, and jump hosts with disciplined backup and change-control practices
• Design and maintain OT networking stack for production (MQTT, OPC UA, TCP/IP) and diagnose protocol, timing, and VLAN segmentation issues using packet-level analysis
• Architect, develop, and debug PLC code on Allen-Bradley and/or Siemens platforms, producing structured, documented code suitable for high-volume manufacturing
• Apply defense-grade OT security practices — air-gapped design, IEC 62443/NIST 800-82 segmentation, Purdue-model layering, server hardening, and secure remote access
• Partner with IT, Security, FactoryOS, and Manufacturing Engineering on cross-functional initiatives and represent controls team in design reviews and cybersecurity buy-offs
• Rj45 wiring, configure switches, automating system backups, IT and OT
• FWs configs, AWS EC2s.

Skills

PLC programming

OT networking

OT cybersecurity

packet-level analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/EE/Robotics/IT

Tools

Allen-Bradley PLC

Siemens PLC

MQTT

OPC UA

Job description

Automation Engineer, Manufacturing Automation

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 Manufacturing Automation team is seeking an Automation Engineer to join our team. The Manufacturing Automation team is responsible for the design, integration, and deployment of automated manufacturing systems across Anduril factories. As a member of this team, you will have the opportunity to help define what production automation looks like for Anduril at a national scale.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

• Own controls systems end-to-end as technical system owner — architecture, PLC/HMI development, commissioning, proof of rate, and sustainment handoff
• Deploy and maintain OT server infrastructure including, MQTT brokers, and jump hosts with disciplined backup and change-control practices
• Design and maintain OT networking stack for production (MQTT, OPC UA, TCP/IP) and diagnose protocol, timing, and VLAN segmentation issues using packet-level analysis
• Architect, develop, and debug PLC code on Allen-Bradley and/or Siemens platforms, producing structured, documented code suitable for high-volume manufacturing
• Apply defense-grade OT security practices — air-gapped design, IEC 62443/NIST 800-82 segmentation, Purdue-model layering, server hardening, and secure remote access
• Partner with IT, Security, FactoryOS, and Manufacturing Engineering on cross-functional initiatives and represent controls team in design reviews and cybersecurity buy-offs
• Rj45 wiring, configure switches, automating system backups, IT and OT
• FWs configs, AWS EC2s.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, Information Technology, or related field
• 4+ years of experience in controls and automation in a production environment
• Strong in PLC programming on Allen-Bradley and/or Siemens platforms
• Proficient in OPC UA, MQTT Engine/Distributor/Transmission)
• Proficient across the OT stack — MQTT, OPC UA, TCP/IP, industrial Ethernet, VLANs, switching/routing — with fluency in packet-level analysis
• Working knowledge of OT cybersecurity — air-gapped networks, network segmentation, server hardening, secure remote access
• Experience integrating with MES and QMS
• Must be a U.S. Person due to required access to U.S. export controlled information or facilities

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience in regulated or defense manufacturing environments (ITAR/EAR-controlled, CMMC, or FDA/aerospace quality systems)
• Experience integrating controls systems with MES and QMS platforms
• Experience with servo drives, VFDs, PID tuning, and functional-safety implementations
• Experience deploying Ignition in redundant/high-availability gateway topologies
• Familiar with control panel layout, electrical component selection, and cable routing

US Salary Range

$129,000 - $171,000 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:

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 .

As set forth in Anduril Industries’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.