Lead Manufacturing Engineer, Propulsion & Energetics

Anduril; Costa Mesa (CA); On-site; USD 160,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Anduril Industries in California is seeking a Lead Manufacturing Engineer for Propulsion and Energetics to own the manufacturing and integration of high-consequence propulsion hardware on our space/vehicle programs. You will lead cross-functional teams and ensure safe handling, reliability and documentation from motor/ thruster reception through installation and test.

Lead the Design for Manufacturability effort, develop process validations, PFMEA, and first article inspections; coordinate with

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Chemical, Manufacturing or Industrial Engineering or related technical discipline.
• 8+ years of manufacturing or integration engineering in aerospace/defense/high-reliability industry; 4+ years with propulsion/ordnance or energetic hardware.
• Experience under formal explosives/energetics safety program with controls (quantity-distance, two-person discipline, safing, stray voltage/RF hazards).

Responsibilities

• Own solid rocket motor integration processes: receipt, handling, mating to vehicle, alignment, torque and close-out.
• Own divert and attitude control system and thruster installation: mounting, alignment, plumbing and leak verification.
• Own pressurant and fluid system build and installation: tanks, lines, fittings, valves, proof and leak testing, cleanliness control.
• Own ordnance installation: initiators, pyrotechnic systems, flight termination; safe-and-arm handling, electrical safing, hazard controls.
• Partner with Explosive Engineering & Operations on hazard classification and safety controls.
• Author and maintain work instructions, travelers, as-built records; own PFMEA, validation and first article inspection.
• Drive design for manufacturability and assembly into propulsion/ordnance designs before CDR.
• Specify and qualify handling equipment and tooling with Automation/Tooling engineer.
• Serve as manufacturing interface to RMS and propulsion partners on producibility; support energetics integration on-site.
• Owner of Manufacturing Development Process (MDP); mentor engineers and technicians.

Skills

Propulsion integration

Safety program

Design for manufacturability

Technical leadership

Education

Bachelors in engineering

Tools

Foundry

Teamcenter

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: