Manufacturing Tooling Engineer

Anduril Industries; Asheville (NC); On-site; USD 126,000 - 167,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity grants

Comprehensive benefits

Job summary

Anduril Industries is seeking a Tooling Engineer to join the Manufacturing Engineering team at Arsenal‑1 in Ashville, Ohio. You will design, develop, and maintain tooling, fixtures, and jigs for large scale sub‑assembly production, translating engineering requirements into practical tooling for safe, accurate, and repeatable build processes.

The role requires 5+ years in tooling for aerospace/defense, proficient 3D CAD skills (NX/SolidWorks/CATIA), and strong GD&T knowledge.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Manufacturing or Aerospace Engineering or related field.
• 5+ years designing and developing tooling for aerospace/defense manufacturing, preferably aircraft tooling.
• Proficiency with NX, SolidWorks, or CATIA and 2D drafting for tooling drawings.
• Strong GD&T knowledge and tolerance stack‑up analysis for airframe structures.
• Experience with metallic tooling materials and field-proven tooling on production floors.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop assembly tooling, fixtures, jigs, drill guides, and holding fixtures for aircraft sub‑assembly.
• Perform tolerance analysis and GD&T stack‑ups to ensure accuracy and interchangeability.
• Create tooling drawings, specs, and BOMs for fabrication or procurement.
• Support tooling prove‑out on the production floor and iterate from feedback.
• Develop tooling maintenance schedules, calibration requirements, and inspection procedures.
• Collaborate with engineers to identify tooling needs from new products and changes.
• Perform root cause analysis on tooling quality issues and implement corrective actions.
• Source and qualify outsourced tooling with vendors and on‑site tests.

Skills

Tooling design

3D CAD

GD&T analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field

Tools

NX

SolidWorks

CATIA

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 JOB

Anduril is seeking a Tooling Engineer to join the Manufacturing Engineering team at Arsenal‑1 in Ashville, Ohio. The Tooling Engineer is responsible for designing, developing, and maintaining the tooling, fixtures, and jigs required to support large scale sub‑assembly production. This role works at the intersection of design engineering and production execution — translating engineering requirements into physical tooling that enables technicians to build flight‑critical hardware safely, accurately, and repeatably. The Tooling Engineer partners closely with manufacturing engineers, design engineers, and production technicians to ensure the line has the right tools to hit rate while maintaining quality and positional accuracy.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Design and develop assembly tooling, fixtures, jigs, drill guides, holding fixtures, and handling equipment for aircraft sub‑assembly operations using 3D CAD (NX)
• Perform tolerance analysis and GD&T stack-ups to ensure tooling meets positional accuracy and interchangeability requirements for airframe structures
• Create detailed tooling drawings, specifications, and bills of material for internal fabrication or vendor procurement
• Support first article tooling prove‑out on the production floor, iterating on designs based on technician feedback and build results
• Develop and maintain tooling maintenance schedules, calibration requirements, and inspection procedures to ensure tooling remains within tolerance throughout its service life
• Collaborate with manufacturing engineers to identify tooling needs driven by new product introductions, design changes, or process improvements
• Perform root cause analysis on tooling‑related quality issues and implement corrective actions — including rework, redesign, or replacement of worn or underperforming tools
• Work with external tooling vendors to source, quote, and qualify outsourced tooling — including on‑site acceptance testing and first article inspection
• Support Design for Manufacturability (DFM) reviews by providing tooling feasibility input and recommending design features that simplify fixturing and reduce assembly complexity
• Develop and document standard tooling design practices, reusable modular fixture concepts, and lessons learned to accelerate future tooling development cycles
• Support production rate ramp by identifying tooling bottlenecks and designing duplicate, multi‑station, or quick‑change tooling solutions to increase throughput
• Manage tooling inventory, tracking, and storage — ensuring tools are available, identifiable, and in serviceable condition when needed on the line

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field
• 5+ years of experience in tooling design and development for aerospace or defense manufacturing — aircraft assembly tooling strongly preferred
• Proficiency in 3D CAD software (NX, SolidWorks, or CATIA) and 2D drafting for tooling drawings
• Strong understanding of GD&T principles and tolerance stack‑up analysis as applied to assembly tooling and airframe structures
• Experience with metallic tooling materials (aluminum, steel, Invar) and an understanding of material selection trade‑offs for fixture design
• Hands‑on experience proving out tooling on a production floor and iterating designs based on build feedback
• Ability to read and interpret aircraft engineering drawings, specifications, and assembly procedures
• Familiarity with aerospace quality standards (AS9100, AWS D17.1) and configuration management practices
• Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience with composite tooling (layup mandrels, cure tooling, trim fixtures) in addition to metallic assembly tooling
• Knowledge of laser tracker, CMM, or photogrammetry‑based metrology systems for tooling verification and alignment
• Experience designing tooling for automated drilling, fastening, or robotic assembly systems
• Familiarity with FEA for structural and thermal analysis of tooling under load or cure cycle conditions
• Experience with additive manufacturing (3D printing) for prototype tooling, soft tooling, or production aids
• Prior experience in a rate production environment supporting production ramp from low‑rate to full‑rate
• PLM/PDM experience (Teamcenter, Windchill) for tooling configuration and revision control
• Hands‑on fabrication skills — machining, welding, or sheet metal work — that inform practical tooling design

US Salary Range

$126,000 — $167,000 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:

Benefits

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.