Production Program Manager

Anduril Industries; Asheville (NC); On-site; USD 126,000 - 168,000; Full time

Job summary

Anduril Industries is seeking a Production Program Manager to drive the modernization of the command and control systems, coordinating across engineering, supply chain, operations, finance, and leadership to ensure timely and on-budget manufacturing ramps.

The role includes a 3-month training period in Santa Ana, CA before transitioning to Ashville, OH, with up to 50% travel during production handoff.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Business or related technical field.
• 5+ years experience in operations program management or similar.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing environment and related processes.
• Experience launching new products with condensed timelines.
• Experience with Agile, Lean, Six Sigma and tools like Jira/Confluence.

Responsibilities

• Lead cross-functional teams to ensure production ramp and cost targets.
• Drive production efficiency, schedule attainment, and risk mitigation.
• Develop data-driven reporting on KPIs, OKRs, and project status.
• Act as production contact for changes to existing and new products.
• Manage scope, plan, and outcomes of high-priority cross-functional initiatives.
• Collaborate with engineering, supply chain, manufacturing, quality, and finance.

Skills

Program management

Operations management

Manufacturing

Communication

Leadership

Problem-solving

Adaptability

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering/Operations Management/Business

Tools

Jira

Confluence

Gantt charts

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.

We are seeking a Production Program Manager to serve as a builder-operator within the CW division. Your work will drive the modernization of the command and control systems of U.S. and Allied forces. New technologies and new adversaries demand a new approach to battlefield intelligence, and our products are rapidly scaling in production to deliver the volumes that our customers need. This cross functional work will involve engineering, supply chain, operations, finance and executive leadership teams to ensure the successful manufacturing ramp of our production programs. Your role is critical in driving efficiency improvement, schedule attainment, risk assessment and mitigation, as well as ensuring projects are delivered on both schedule and budget.

Success in this position hinges on your ability to:

1. Execute with Precision: Dive deep into ambiguous and complex operational challenges, diagnose root causes, and drive solutions to completion.
2. Optimize and Mature: Lead the transition to production readiness, focusing on process optimization, operational excellence, continuous improvement, design for manufacturability (DFM), and supply chain stability.
3. Process Development: Partner and build agile production management processes to achieve specific, time-sensitive outcomes.

This role will be based temporarily at Santa Ana, CA for a 3 month training period before transitioning to Ashville, OH.

Please note: There will likely be up 50% travel required for this role during production hand off.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Strategic Problem Solving: Act as an internal strike team leader to identify, analyze, and resolve the most complex operational, manufacturing, and business process issues that impede product maturity and scalability.
• Process Optimization – Drive continuous improvement initiatives aligned with our COGs objectives to enhance production efficiency, scalability, and cost effectiveness.
• Budget & Cost Control – Monitor project budgets, track progress and ensure we are continually focused on solving the largest problems to improve the bottom line.
• Data-Driven Operations – Develop and implement reporting systems that clearly and transparently communicate progress to internal teams and executive leadership on KPIs, OKRs and project status, risks, and mitigations.
• New Product Information (NPI) – Be production’s point of contact for all changes to existing product as well as new products in our pipeline.
• Cross-Functional Initiative Management: Lead high-priority, cross-functional projects to align production efforts with business objectives that span engineering, supply chain, manufacturing, quality, and finance. You will support defining project scope, building the plan, and ensuring outcomes are achieved.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Business or related technical field
• 5+ years of experience in operations program management, business operations, engineering/technical roles, preferably in a complex hardware industry
• Strong understanding of the manufacturing environment and the supporting processes that enable production
• Experience launching new products with condensed timelines
• Experience with project management methodologies (Agile, Lean, Six Sigma, etc.) and tools (Jira, Confluence, Gantt Chartsetc.)
• Excellent problem-solving, analytical, and organizational skills
• Strong communication and leadership abilities to influence and align cross functional teams
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, dynamic environment with evolving priorities
• Currently possesses and is able to maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• You’re technical—you are data-driven, understand systems, and know how to communicate with engineering and product teams.
• You’re a builder—you’d rather design and implement a better solution than patch around a broken one.
• You’re a team player - you approach both people and problems with a a sense of humility while clearly understanding your impact.
• You’re self-driven and proactive—your bias is for action rather than delay.
• You’re comfortable in ambiguity—you get energy from untangling complex, messy problems.
• You’re clear—you communicate effectively, including in both technical and non-technical contexts.

US Salary Range

$126,000 — $168,000 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