Lead Manufacturing Engineer, Avionics

Anduril Industries, Inc.; Costa Mesa (CA); On-site; USD 147,000 - 196,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity grants

Competitive benefits

Job summary

Anduril Industries is seeking a Lead Manufacturing Engineer for the Propulsion Manufacturing Team. You will own and optimize the manufacturing value chain for avionics PCBA, harnessing, propulsion testing, and turbomachinery, transitioning from prototype to high-volume production.

You’ll collaborate with Design Engineering on DFx, drive manufacturability improvements, and lead a team of engineers and specialists to deliver robust hardware in a fast-paced, resource-constrained environment.

Qualifications

• Degree in a technical field preferred such as engineering, math, or a hard science.
• 8+ years of experience in a relevant field, preferably manufacturing or design of avionics or electrical systems.
• Demonstrated ability to creatively deliver avionics hardware in a resource-constrained environment.
• 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 bring up assembly operations for electrical assemblies.
• Personal experience physically manufacturing hardware via any means (machining, fabrication, soldering, assembly, etc.)
• Proficient at ERP, CAD, PLM, and FRACAS software.
• Must be a U.S. Person due to required access to U.S. export controlled information or facilities.

Responsibilities

• Build, mentor, and lead a high-performing team of Electrical Manufacturing Engineers and Specialists with deep product knowledge in avionics PCBA and harnessing fabrication, propulsion testing, turbomachinery, and system integration.
• Leverage expertise in New Product Introduction (NPI) to transition PCBA, harnessing, and integration from prototype to high-volume production, optimizing manufacturability and supply chain scalability.
• Be a strong partner with Product Quality Engineering to drive RCCA burndowns addressing key issues internally and externally to EW Production.
• Collaborate with Design Engineering teams early to feedback Design For Manufacturability (DFx).
• Define workflows with cross functional teams for effective collaboration.
• Own a portion or all of the manufacturing value chain for a product or set of products.

Skills

Team leadership

Avionics hardware

NPI experience

DFx knowledge

Problem solving

Education

Technical degree in engineering or hard sciences

Tools

ERP

CAD

PLM

FRACAS

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 Manufacturing team is seeking a Lead Manufacturing Engineer to join our team. The Propulsion Manufacturing Team is responsible for rapidly iterating and building cutting-edge defense hardware for the Core Technologies Platform. This responsibility includes everything in the manufacturing value-chain, including, but not limited to, Design for Manufacturability work, tool design & selection, process creation & optimization, vendor sourcing & interaction, quality planning, and work documentation associated with the hardware that the Manufacturing Engineer owns.

The right person for this role can demonstrate past holistic ownership on solving a technical challenge with a creative, physical, solution that they either personally manufacturing or oversaw manufacturing on, in a fast-paced, resource-limited environment. If you are someone who thrives in such an environment, then this role is for you.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

• Build, mentor, and lead a high-performing team of Electrical Manufacturing Engineers and Specialists with deep product knowledge in avionics PCBA and harnessing fabrication, propulsion testing, turbomachinery, and system integration.
• Leverage expertise in New Product Introduction (NPI) to seamlessly transition PCBA, harnessing, and integration from prototype to high-volume production, optimizing manufacturability and supply chain scalability.
• Be a strong partner with Product Quality Engineering to drive and support RCCA burndowns that tackle key issues both internally and externally to EW Production.
• Collaborate with Design Engineering teams early in the development process to feedback Design For Manufacturability.
• Define workflows with cross functional teams for effective collaboration.
• Collaborate with Design Engineering teams in early to late phases of the development process to provide DFx for smooth NPI transitions.
• Own a portion or all of the manufacturing value chain for a certain product or set of products.
• Develop process flows, breaking down large, complex assemblies into a logical part flow of subassemblies and sub-processes.
• Contribute to end-customer hardware mechanical or electrical design, including interconnects, board fabrication and inspection, etc.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Degree in a technical field preferred such as engineering, math, or a hard science.
• 8+ years of experience in a relevant field, preferably manufacturing or design of avionics or electrical systems.
• Demonstrated ability to creatively deliver avionics hardware in a resource-constrained environment.
• 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 bring up assembly operations for electrical assemblies.
• Personal experience physically manufacturing hardware via any means (machining, fabrication, soldering, assembly, etc.) Work on personal or extracurricular projects is a plus.
• Proficient at ERP, CAD, PLM, and FRACAS software.
• Must be a U.S. Person due to required access to U.S. export controlled information or facilities.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience with Avionics or Propulsion Products that require system AI&T (assembly, integration, and test).
• Hands-on experience with software & firmware flashing or end-of-line testing & troubleshooting.
• Demonstrated success in scaling product testing and production from tens/hundreds to hundreds/thousands.
• Skills in cost analysis, cost reduction strategies, and managing production budgets.
• Software scripting experience in any language.

US Salary Range

$147,000 - $196,000 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.

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.