Senior Controls Engineer, Manufacturing Automation

Anduril Industries; Costa Mesa (CA); On-site; USD 146,000 - 194,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity grants

Comprehensive benefits

Job summary

Anduril Industries is seeking a Senior Controls Engineer to own end-to-end control systems on the manufacturing floor, from architecture and PLC/HMI development to commissioning and sustainment. You will deploy OT/IT infrastructure, design the OT networking stack, and ensure secure, scalable operations across a high-volume environment.

You’ll develop Ignition SCADA applications, write PLC code for Allen-Bradley and Siemens platforms, and apply defense-grade security practices. A U.S.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, IT, or related field.
• 6+ years of controls and automation experience in a production environment.
• Strong PLC programming skills on Allen-Bradley and/or Siemens platforms.
• Proficiency in Ignition SCADA development, including gateway modules (Tag Historian, Alarm Notification, SQL, OPC UA, MQTT Engine/Distributor/Transmission).
• Proficiency across the OT stack - MQTT, OPC UA, TCP/IP, industrial Ethernet, VLANs, switching, and routing.
• Working knowledge of OT cybersecurity, including air-gapped networks, network segmentation, server hardening, and secure remote access.
• Must be eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Own controls systems end-to-end, driving architecture, PLC/HMI development, commissioning, proof of rate, and sustainment handoff.
• Deploy and maintain OT/IT server infrastructure - Ignition gateways, historians, MQTT brokers, and jump hosts - backed by disciplined backup and change-control practices.
• Design and maintain the production OT networking stack (MQTT, OPC UA, TCP/IP), and diagnose protocol, timing, and VLAN segmentation issues down to the packet level.
• Build Ignition Perspective SCADA applications, including views, tag architecture, alarm pipelines, historian configuration, and gateway topology.
• Architect, develop, and debug PLC code on Allen-Bradley and/or Siemens platforms, producing structured, well-documented code suitable for high-volume manufacturing.
• Apply defense-grade OT security practices - air-gapped design, IEC 62443/NIST 800-82 segmentation, Purdue-model layering, server hardening, and secure remote access.
• Partner with IT, Security, FactoryOS, and Manufacturing Engineering on cross-functional initiatives, and represent the controls team in design reviews and cybersecurity buy-offs.
• Own hands-on network infrastructure across OT/IT - running and terminating network cabling, configuring switches, and automating backup routines.
• Configure and manage firewalls and AWS EC2 instances that support production infrastructure.

Skills

PLC programming

Ignition SCADA

OT networking

OT security

Security clearance

Defense ITAR

MES integration

Ignition HA

CAD software

Vision systems

Education

Bachelor’s degree in a related field

Tools

Ignition SCADA

Allen-Bradley PLC

Siemens PLC

OPC UA

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

As a Senior Controls Engineer, you’ll be the technical owner of controls systems on the manufacturing floor - from architecture and PLC/HMI development through commissioning, proof of rate, and sustainment. You’ll build and harden the OT/IT automation infrastructure that keeps production running, set the standard for how the controls team designs secure and reliable systems, and represent that work in cross-functional design reviews and cybersecurity buy-offs.

What You’ll Do

• Own controls systems end-to-end, driving architecture, PLC/HMI development, commissioning, proof of rate, and sustainment handoff
• Deploy and maintain OT/IT server infrastructure - Ignition gateways, historians, MQTT brokers, and jump hosts - backed by disciplined backup and change-control practices
• Design and maintain the production OT networking stack (MQTT, OPC UA, TCP/IP), and diagnose protocol, timing, and VLAN segmentation issues down to the packet level
• Build Ignition Perspective SCADA applications, including views, tag architecture, alarm pipelines, historian configuration, and gateway topology
• Architect, develop, and debug PLC code on Allen-Bradley and/or Siemens platforms, producing structured, well-documented code suitable for high-volume manufacturing
• Apply defense-grade OT security practices - air-gapped design, IEC 62443/NIST 800-82 segmentation, Purdue-model layering, server hardening, and secure remote access
• Partner with IT, Security, FactoryOS, and Manufacturing Engineering on cross-functional initiatives, and represent the controls team in design reviews and cybersecurity buy-offs
• Own hands-on network infrastructure across OT/IT - running and terminating network cabling, configuring switches, and automating backup routines
• Configure and manage firewalls and AWS EC2 instances that support production infrastructure

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, Information Technology, or a related field
• 6+ years of controls and automation experience in a production environment
• Strong PLC programming skills on Allen-Bradley and/or Siemens platforms
• Proficiency in Ignition SCADA development, including gateway modules (Tag Historian, Alarm Notification, SQL, OPC UA, MQTT Engine/Distributor/Transmission)
• Proficiency across the OT stack - MQTT, OPC UA, TCP/IP, industrial Ethernet, VLANs, switching, and routing
• Working knowledge of OT cybersecurity, including air-gapped networks, network segmentation, server hardening, and secure remote access
• Must be eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in regulated or defense manufacturing environments (ITAR/EAR-controlled, CMMC, or FDA/aerospace quality systems)
• Experience integrating controls systems with MES and QMS platforms
• Experience deploying Ignition in redundant/high-availability gateway topologies
• Experience with torque tools and 2D/3D vision systems
• Familiarity with control panel layout, electrical component selection, and cable routing
• Familiarity with CAD packages such as SolidWorks, NX, CATIA, or AutoCAD

US Salary Range

$146,000-$194,000 USD

Benefits

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.

Data Privacy

To view Anduril's candidate data privacy policy, please visit https://anduril.com/applicant-privacy-notice/.

By submitting your application, you consent to Anduril Industries using a third-party service provider to conduct pre-employment risk, integrity, and due diligence screening and assessing potential risks as part of your application process. This third-party service provider provides risk-intelligence services that may include analysis of sanctions and watchlists, adverse media, public-record information, and other lawful open-source or commercial data sources. This third-party service provider does not act as a consumer reporting agency. Use of this provider helps to ensure compliance with applicable laws and protect technology, intellectual property, and organizational security.