Senior DFx Engineer, Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Anduril-1; Costa Mesa (CA); On-site; USD 146,000 - 194,000; Full time

Job summary

Anduril Industries in Costa Mesa, CA, seeks a Senior DFx Engineer to drive design for manufacturability across mechanical, structural, thermal, and fluid subsystems for AD&S programs. You will evaluate producibility, negotiate design trades, and partner with contract manufacturers to meet cost and quality targets.

The role requires leading DFM/ DFA reviews, developing DFx standards and cost models, and collaborating with supply chain, quality, and operations.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in manufacturing/producibility/DFx with focus on mechanical systems.
• Experience leading DFx reviews and translating findings to cost reductions.
• U.S. person and ability to travel ~20%

Responsibilities

• Lead DFx analysis across mechanical, thermal, and fluid systems.
• Lead DFM/ DFA reviews at design milestones with scoring.
• Collaborate with contract manufacturers for capability and cost.
• Develop DFx standards, templates, and cost models.
• Partner with supply chain to align DFx with sourcing.
• Travel to production sites ~20%.

Skills

DFx analysis

DFM/DFA/DFC reviews

Cross-functional collaboration

Reading drawings & GD&T

Cost reduction

Manufacturing systems knowledge

Supplier evaluation

Strong communication

Education

Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

NX/CATIA/SolidWorks

Job description

Senior DFx Engineer, Mechanical & Fluid Systems

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's Air Dominance & Strike (AD&S) Manufacturing Engineering team is seeking a Senior DFx Engineer to drive design for manufacturability, assembly, and cost across our mechanical, structural, thermal management, and fluid systems (fuel, hydraulics, pneumatics) subsystems. This role spans our full portfolio of autonomous aircraft, cruise missiles, and loitering munitions - ensuring that design decisions account for how hardware will be built, by whom, and at what cost. You will bring specialty expertise in at least one of the following domains: mechanical structures and assemblies, thermal/heat transfer systems, or fluid systems including fuel, hydraulic, and pneumatic architectures. Your primary focus areas are manufacturability, assembly, and cost. You will work directly with subject matter expert (SME) manufacturing engineers and design engineers to evaluate producibility, negotiate design trades, and drive improvements that make hardware buildable and cost-effective. A key part of this role is supporting the selection and qualification of contract manufacturers - assessing supplier capabilities against DFx requirements and helping ensure that external production partners can deliver to the quality, rate, and cost targets our programs demand. This is an inherently cross-functional role: you will work daily with supply chain, quality, operations, and program teams in addition to ME and DE.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Execute DFx analysis across mechanical, structural, thermal, and fluid systems subsystems for AD&S programs, with a primary focus on manufacturability, assembly, and cost.
• Participate in and help lead structured DFM/DFA/DFC reviews at key design milestones, applying rigorous scoring to identify producibility and cost risks and drive design changes before they reach production.
• Participate in and help lead/facilitate DFMEAs with cross-functional teams. Use FMEA outputs to drive design changes, inspection strategies, and control plans.
• Work directly with SME manufacturing engineers and design engineers to evaluate designs, translate manufacturing constraints into actionable feedback, and support design trades that balance performance, producibility, and cost.
• Support the selection and qualification of contract manufacturers for machined components, fabrications, composite structures, thermal hardware, and fluid system assemblies - assessing supplier manufacturing capability, process maturity, and cost competitiveness against DFx requirements.
• Participate in supplier manufacturing assessments including facility reviews, process audits, and capability evaluations.
• Contribute to should-cost models and cost-driver analyses for mechanical and fluid system assemblies, identifying design changes that reduce unit cost without compromising quality or performance.
• Develop and maintain DFx standards, guidelines, and scorecards specific to mechanical manufacturing processes including CNC machining, sheet metal fabrication, welding, brazing, composite layup and bonding, tube bending and swaging, and mechanical assembly.
• Analyze designs across key lenses — manufacturability/assembly, cost structure, adherence to specification, process capability, and technology maturity — to contribute to quantified risk assessments that inform engineering and program decisions.
• Evaluate thermal management and fluid system designs for producibility - including tube routing, fitting selection, seal and joint design, heat exchanger fabrication, and cleanliness requirements.
• Partner with supply chain to align DFx requirements with sourcing strategy, ensuring that designs are producible by the suppliers we intend to use.
• Collaborate with quality engineering to ensure DFx findings flow into inspection plans, acceptance criteria, and supplier quality requirements.
• Close the loop between production floor feedback, supplier performance data, and upstream design improvements.
• Contribute to the DFx toolkit — templates, scoring rubrics, cost models, lessons-learned databases, and training materials — so that DFx knowledge scales across the organization.
• Travel to production sites, contract manufacturers, and supplier facilities (~20%, depending on business needs).

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related field.
• 8+ years of experience in manufacturing engineering, producibility engineering, or DFx with a significant focus on mechanical systems, thermal management, or fluid systems - with specialty expertise in at least one of these domains.
• Strong working knowledge of mechanical manufacturing processes: CNC machining, sheet metal fabrication, welding, brazing, composite layup and cure, bonding, casting, forging, and complex mechanical assembly.
• Experience participating in or leading DFM/DFA reviews and translating findings into measurable design improvements that reduce cost and improve producibility.
• Experience supporting contract manufacturer evaluations — including facility assessments, process capability reviews, or production readiness evaluations.
• Understanding of cost drivers in mechanical and fluid system production, with exposure to should-cost modeling or cost analysis.
• Ability to read and critically evaluate mechanical drawings, GD&T, 3D models, and assembly documentation for producibility and cost impact.
• Working knowledge of relevant standards and specifications for aerospace mechanical and fluid systems.
• Proven ability to work cross-functionally across design engineering, manufacturing engineering, supply chain, quality, and operations.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present DFx and cost findings to engineering teams and drive alignment on design changes.
• Comfortable working across multiple programs simultaneously in a fast-paced, high-growth environment.
• Personal experience in a machine shop, fabrication shop, or on a production floor working with mechanical hardware. Hands‑on credibility matters.
• Must be a U.S. Person due to required access to U.S. export controlled information or facilities.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Master's degree in engineering or a related field.
• Specialty expertise in two or more of: mechanical structures, thermal/heat transfer systems, fuel systems, hydraulic systems.
• Experience in aerospace or defense mechanical production, particularly with qualified or flight‑critical hardware.
• Familiarity with AS9100/AS9102 quality management systems and First Article Inspection processes.
• Experience with composite manufacturing (autoclave cure, out‑of‑autoclave, RTM) and associated DFM considerations.
• Proficiency in CAD software (NX, CATIA, SolidWorks, or similar) sufficient to review designs independently.
• Background in Design of Experiments (DOE), statistical process control, or Six Sigma applied to mechanical manufacturing.
• Experience with Full Size Determinant Assembly (FSDA).
• Experience with value engineering or formal cost reduction programs in a production environment.
• Currently possesses and is able to maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance with Full‑Scope Polygraph.

US Salary Range

$146,000 - $194,000 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 .

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

As set forth in Anduril Industries’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service‑connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three‑year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.