Lead Manufacturing Engineer, Propulsion & Energetics

Anduril Industries; Costa Mesa (CA); On-site; USD 146,000 - 194,000; Full time

Job summary

Anduril Industries is seeking a Lead Manufacturing Engineer for Propulsion and Energetics to own the manufacturing and integration of high-consequence hardware. You will manage solid rocket motor integration, thruster installation, pressurant systems and ordnance handling within a formal safety program, ensuring readiness for production.

You will collaborate with Explosive Engineering & Operations, define work instructions, drive manufacturability changes before CDR, and mentor engineers as ramp

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering or related technical discipline.
• 8+ years in aerospace/defense manufacturing or integration.
• Experience under explosives or energetics safety programs with controls.
• Hands-on propulsion hardware experience in two areas.
• Procedures for hazardous operations (8D, 5-Why, PFMEA) desirable.
• Active U.S. Secret clearance required.
• Willingness to travel up to 25%.

Responsibilities

• Own solid rocket motor integration: receipt, handling, mating, alignment and close-out.
• Own thruster installation: mounting, alignment, plumbing, leak verification.
• Own pressurant and fluid systems build: tanks, lines, testing, cleanliness.
• Own ordnance installation including initiators and safety controls.
• Collaborate on hazard classification with Explosive Engineering & Operations.
• Maintain work instructions, travelers and as-built records; lead RCA & PFMEA.
• Drive DFM/DFA into propulsion and ordnance designs before CDR.
• Specify handling equipment and tooling with Automation & Tooling teams.
• Interface with propulsion partners on producibility and site support.
• Own the Manufacturing Development Process in Foundry/Teamcenter; mentor staff.

Skills

Manufacturing engineering

Propulsion and energetic hardware

Root cause analysis

Safety compliance

Procedural authoring

Education

Bachelor's degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Chemical, Manufacturing or Industrial Engineering

Tools

Foundry

Teamcenter

PFMEA

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 Space Manufacturing team is seeking a Lead Manufacturing Engineer for Propulsion and Energetics to join our team. Your expertise will help ensure that our products meet the highest standards of quality and reliability at Anduril.

As the Lead Manufacturing Engineer for Propulsion and Energetics, you will own the manufacturing and integration processes for the highest-consequence hardware on the vehicle. Your responsibilities span solid rocket motor integration, divert and attitude control and thruster installation, pressurant and fluid systems, and the ordnance and initiator installation that arms the vehicle — together with the hazard classification, safety controls and handling discipline that make all of it survivable. You will lead cross-functional initiatives, mentor engineers and technicians, and grow this discipline as the production ramp builds.

This role owns the integration and handling of qualified propulsion and energetic hardware. Solid rocket motors arrive qualified from Anduril RMS and thrusters and control systems arrive from our propulsion partners; you own how they are received, handled, installed, mated and closed out — not propellant casting, loading or pyrotechnic device manufacture. The ideal candidate is a hands-on propulsion integration engineer who has worked flight or comparably high-consequence energetic hardware under a formal safety program, and who is comfortable working from incomplete design data in a fast-paced environment.

What You’ll Do

• Own solid rocket motor integration processes: receipt and inspection of qualified motors from Anduril RMS, handling and lift operations, mating to the vehicle, alignment, and torque and close-out.
• Own divert and attitude control system and thruster installation processes — mounting, alignment, plumbing and leak verification — for both development and vendor-supplied units.
• Own pressurant and fluid system build and installation: tanks, lines, fittings, valves, proof and leak testing, and cleanliness control for propulsion-grade fluid systems.
• Own ordnance installation processes — initiators, pyrotechnic separation systems and flight termination system installation — including safe-and-arm handling, electrical safing, stray voltage and RF hazard controls, and the two-person and lockout discipline that goes with them.
• Partner with Anduril's Explosive Engineering & Operations team on hazard classification and own the manufacturing safety controls that follow — siting, storage and licensing compliance, and the hazardous operating procedures the floor works to.
• Author and maintain work instructions, travelers and as-built records for the propulsion and ordnance operations you own, and own root cause analysis, PFMEA, process validation and first article inspection for those processes.
• Drive Design for Manufacturability and Assembly into propulsion and ordnance designs before CDR — access, handling provisions, safing points, line and connector routing, and installation order.
• Specify and qualify handling equipment, lift fixtures and installation tooling for propulsion hardware, working with the Automation and Tooling engineer who designs it.
• Serve as the manufacturing technical interface to Anduril RMS and to our propulsion partners on motor and thruster producibility, and support energetics integration on site at our launch and motor sites.
• Act as an owner of Anduril's Manufacturing Development Process (MDP), use Foundry and Teamcenter as the system of record, and mentor the engineers and technicians who will grow this discipline.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Chemical, Manufacturing or Industrial Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• 8+ years of manufacturing or integration engineering experience in aerospace, space, defense or another high-reliability industry, including 4+ years hands-on work on propulsion, ordnance or other energetic hardware.
• Has worked under a formal explosives or energetics safety program and can describe the controls in practice — quantity-distance and magazine siting under DESR 6055.09 or ATF 27 CFR, two-person discipline, electrical safing, and stray voltage and RF hazard controls.
• Hands-on experience in at least two of: solid rocket motor handling and integration; liquid or cold-gas thruster installation; pressurant and fluid system build with proof and leak testing; ordnance installation, including separation systems or flight termination systems.
• Has authored or approved procedures for hazardous operations on flight or comparably high-consequence hardware, and can walk through how a procedure changed after first execution.
• Experience specifying handling and lift equipment for heavy or hazardous articles, including load path and proof load requirements.
• Experience serving as the manufacturing technical interface to a propulsion supplier or an internal motor or thruster producer — deliverability, producibility and acceptance.
• Demonstrated expertise in root cause analysis (8D, 5-Why, Fishbone), PFMEA, corrective and preventive action, and first article inspection, applied to hazardous processes.
• Currently possesses and is able to maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance
• Willingness to travel up to 25%

Preferred Qualifications

• Formal explosives safety certification or qualification — DoD 4145.26, DOT hazardous materials, range safety, or an equivalent service or agency program.
• Solid rocket motor production or integration experience on a flight program.
• Launch site integration experience, including range safety approval of hazardous procedures.
• Working familiarity with the governing standards and regulations — DESR 6055.09, DoD 4145.26, ATF 27 CFR, DOT 49 CFR, OSHA Process Safety Management, MIL-STD-882E system safety, and AS9100.
• Cleanroom manufacturing with contamination control for solid and liquid propellant systems.

US Salary Range

$146,000—$194,000 USD

Benefits

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.