Lead Manufacturing Engineer, Sentry

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

Job summary

Anduril Industries in Irvine, CA, is seeking a Lead Manufacturing Engineer to guide the Maneuvers product line's vehicle-based and large ground systems. You will build and lead a team of ~4–5 engineers, owning the full manufacturing lifecycle from SRR through prototyping, productionization, rate production, and sustainment.

This role requires deep expertise in mechanical integration, electrical/avionics install, and vehicle assembly, plus strong leadership to drive design-for-manufacturability,

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in engineering, math, or a hard science.
• 6+ years of manufacturing engineering or equivalent hardware production experience.
• Experience delivering large mechanical assemblies or multi-domain systems from development to production.
• Proven experience leading manufacturing engineers on complex hardware programs.
• Ability to take hardware from prototype through productionization and rate production.
• Commitment to world-class quality, mission assurance, and attention to detail.
• U.S. Person required due to access to export-controlled information.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of 4–5 manufacturing engineers to deliver development and production units.
• Own end-to-end manufacturing lifecycle for vehicle-integrated and large-scale systems.
• Set portfolio-level manufacturing strategy for low-rate and high-volume programs.
• Collaborate with design engineering early to drive DFM and serviceability.
• Manage documentation, MBOMs, work instructions, and inspection requirements.
• Develop production and test methods suitable for each program’s volume.
• Lead sustainment engineering for fielded systems, including ECOs and spares.
• Oversee make-versus-buy decisions and liaise with vendors and OEMs.
• Plan capacity, work-centers, and floor-space with cross-functional teams.
• Analyze metrics for cost, quality, cycle time, and capacity improvements.

Skills

Leadership

Manufacturing engineering

Hardware product development

Quality / mission assurance

Team management

U.S. Person

Education

Technical degree in engineering/math/science

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 lead the manufacturing engineering across our maneuver-class Sentry products — larger-scale, vehicle-integrated ground systems including Mobile Sentry and adjacent platforms. The Manufacturing Team is responsible for rapidly iterating and building cutting-edge defense hardware, including static equipment, moving ground equipment, and complex vehicles. This responsibility includes everything in the manufacturing value-chain including, but not limited to, Design for Manufacturability, tool design & selection, process creation & optimization, vendor sourcing & interaction, quality planning, and work documentation associated with the hardware. The Maneuvers portfolio spans a uniquely wide production profile: some platforms are low-rate, high-complexity vehicle integrations, while others are shorter integration efforts running at 10–100x the volume. This role owns the manufacturing engineering strategy that makes both extremes succeed under one team.

ABOUT THE ROLE:

As the Lead Manufacturing Engineer for Maneuvers, you will build and lead a team of approximately 4–5 manufacturing engineers responsible for the full manufacturing lifecycle of Sentry's vehicle-based and larger integrated ground systems — from System Requirements Review through prototyping, productionization, rate production, and long-term sustainment. Your portfolio will include products with very different production shapes: some with low annual demand but deep integration complexity, and others with short integration cycles but order-of-magnitude higher volume. You will be responsible for setting a manufacturing strategy that flexes across that range, standing up the processes, tooling, documentation, and vendor relationships needed for each product to succeed in its own operating mode. The role requires deep technical expertise in mechanical integration, electrical/avionics install, and vehicle-level assembly, paired with the leadership skills to set objectives, build cross-functional teams, and drive rapid project execution across a diverse product set.

WHAT YOU'LL DO:

• Lead, hire, and develop a team of ~4–5 manufacturing engineers responsible for on-time delivery of development and production units across the Maneuvers portfolio, including owning performance management, career development, and technical mentorship.
• Own the end-to-end manufacturing lifecycle for vehicle-integrated and larger-scale Sentry products — from SRR through prototyping, productionization, rate production, and sustainment.
• Set and execute a portfolio-level manufacturing strategy that flexes between low-rate, high-complexity vehicle integrations and short-integration, high-volume programs (10–100x higher throughput).
• Partner with design engineering from earliest concept phases (SRR/PDR) to drive Design for Manufacturability, integration, and serviceability into vehicle-based systems before designs are locked.
• Act as the manufacturing subject matter expert for vehicle-level integration, including mechanical mounting and structures, harnessing and avionics install, powertrain/auxiliary system interfaces, and final assembly and functional checkout.
• Own the documentation stack required to manufacture and sustain vehicle-integrated products at scale — MBOMs, work instructions, integration procedures, torque and inspection requirements, and configuration management artifacts.
• Develop differentiated production and test methodologies appropriate to each program's volume profile — from build-to-order integration lines for low-rate platforms to flow-based, tact-driven lines for higher-volume products.
• Establish and lead the sustainment engineering approach for fielded systems, including field-return diagnosis, ECO/retrofit execution, spares provisioning support, and continuous improvement of in-service platforms.
• Uphold and advise on quality management and business application programs as they pertain to manufacturing within the Maneuvers portfolio.
• Facilitate make-versus-buy decisions for vehicle platforms, major integrated subsystems, and complex assemblies; coordinate with internal supply chain teams to qualify and manage vendors including vehicle OEMs, upfitters, and integration partners.
• Collaborate with internal customers and manufacturing planning teams to define capacity, work-center, and floor-space planning actions across a mixed-volume portfolio.
• Analyze metrics for continuous improvement initiatives across the portfolio (cost reduction, quality issue reduction, cycle time reduction, and capacity increase).
• Instill a culture of innovation, teamwork, and accountability within the manufacturing engineering team.
• Travel to vehicle OEMs, integration partners, suppliers, and field sites to do initial sourcing work, solve ongoing production issues, support qualification builds, and implement process procedures as required.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Degree in a technical field such as engineering, math, or a hard science.
• 6+ years in manufacturing engineering or similar hardware production roles.
• Experience delivering large mechanical assemblies, multi-domain integrated systems, or comparably complex integrated hardware from development into production.
• Demonstrated direct team leadership experience, including managing or leading manufacturing engineers on complex hardware programs, with backing examples.
• Proven experience taking a hardware product from prototype through productionization and rate production.
• An attitude of world-class mission assurance, quality, attention to detail, and dedication.
• Demonstrated ability to creatively deliver hardware in a resource-constrained environment.
• Personal experience physically manufacturing hardware via any means (machining, fabrication, soldering, wiring, vehicle install, assembly, etc.).
• Must be a U.S. Person due to required access to U.S. export controlled information or facilities.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Direct experience in vehicle-based system integration — automotive, military ground vehicles, tactical wheeled vehicles, heavy equipment, or similar upfit / integration environments (strongly preferred).
• Experience managing a portfolio with mixed production profiles — simultaneously supporting low-rate integrations and higher-volume production lines.
• Experience building or transforming successful production operation organizations and leading fast paced, large-scale change management initiatives that influence culture, define tools & processes and improve competencies.
• Experience owning sustainment or in-service engineering for fielded hardware, including ECO execution, retrofit campaigns, and field-return root cause analysis.
• Experience leading and managing teams on fast-paced, complex, cross-functional programs.
• Skills in cost analysis, cost reduction strategies, should-cost modeling, and managing production budgets for large integrated systems.
• Hands-on experience with software & firmware flashing, vehicle-level end-of-line testing, or system-level functional acceptance.

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 .