Propulsion Manufacturing Engineer - DFM & Supplier Lead

Anduril; Costa Mesa (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Anduril Industries in Costa Mesa, CA is seeking a Propulsion Manufacturing Engineer (Senior or Staff) to ensure propulsion hardware can be manufactured, assembled, tested, and integrated at production rate with the quality and reliability our programs demand.

You will collaborate with design engineers and program manufacturing engineers to evaluate designs for producibility, drive DFM improvements, and support supplier qualification and propulsion test campaigns from a manufacturing perspective.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a propulsion manufacturing engineering subject matter expert across AD&S programs, covering air-breathing turbines, ramjets, and solid rocket motors.
• Evaluate propulsion system designs for manufacturability, assembly, and cost, driving DFM/DFA reviews and design changes.
• Work with design engineers and program manufacturing engineers to translate propulsion constraints into actionable feedback.
• Assist in the selection and qualification of propulsion suppliers and contract manufacturers, assessing capability and quality systems.
• Conduct supplier manufacturing assessments including facility reviews, process audits, and production readiness evaluations.
• Develop manufacturing process requirements and standards for propulsion-specific processes such as turbine components, combustor fabrication, propellant processing, and nozzle manufacturing.
• Support propulsion test campaigns from a manufacturing perspective, including hardware prep, instrumentation, acceptance criteria, and anomaly resolution.
• Develop should-cost models and cost-driver analyses to reduce unit cost at rate production.
• Partner with quality engineering to define inspection plans and process controls for propulsion hardware, including NDT and material certification.
• Collaborate with supply chain to align manufacturing requirements with sourcing strategy and long-lead material planning.
• Close the loop between production and test feedback, supplier performance data, and upstream design improvements.
• Build propulsion manufacturing knowledge within the ME organization, developing training materials and lessons-learned databases.

Job description

Anduril Industries in Costa Mesa, CA is seeking a Propulsion Manufacturing Engineer (Senior or Staff) to ensure propulsion hardware can be manufactured, assembled, tested, and integrated at production rate with the quality and reliability our programs demand.

You will collaborate with design engineers and program manufacturing engineers to evaluate designs for producibility, drive DFM improvements, and support supplier qualification and propulsion test campaigns from a manufacturing perspective.