Senior Manufacturing Engineer, Drones

Anduril Industries, Inc.; Santa Ana (CA); On-site; USD 147,000 - 196,000; Full time

Job summary

Anduril Industries is seeking a Senior Manufacturing Engineer for the Drones team to bridge design and high‑volume production of UAS like Bolt, Ghost, Anvil, and future autonomous platforms. You will own process development, scale manufacturing, and partner with design and production teams to ensure seamless transitions from concept to production.

Ideal candidates have 5+ years in manufacturing, hands‑on hardware experience, and a bias for action in fast‑paced defense environments, with a strong

Qualifications

• Degree in engineering, math, or a hard science.
• 5+ years in manufacturing or similar position.
• World-class mission assurance and attention to detail.
• Genuine interest in manufacturing and willingness to learn.
• Experience delivering hardware in resource‑constrained environments.
• Hands-on hardware fabrication experience (machining, soldering, assembly).

Responsibilities

• Support transition from concept to prototype, pilot, and full production with speed and quality.
• Provide daily sustaining support for multiple product lines and resolve issues.
• Collaborate with design engineers to drive design for manufacturing.
• Own documentation for scale manufacturing (MBOMs, work instructions, process flows).
• Define capacity planning actions with manufacturing planning teams.
• Solve complex production issues with the broader team.
• Analyze metrics for continuous improvement (cost reduction, quality).
• Travel to suppliers and partner sites for sourcing and process implementation.

Skills

Manufacturing experience

Attention to detail

Problem solving

Security clearance eligible

Hands-on hardware

Education

Technical degree

Tools

NX/Teamcenter

Soldering

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.

Senior Manufacturing Engineer, Drones

JOB DESCRIPTIONS:

Manufacturing Engineer, Drones

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.

SUMMARY - ABOUT THE TEAM / JOB

Anduril’s Drones departmentis seeking a Senior Manufacturing Engineer to join our team. Anduril’s Drones team is seeking a highly motivated and experienced Manufacturing Engineer to join our rapidly growing team. In this pivotal role, you will be responsible for bridging the gap between cutting‑edge design and efficient, high‑volume production for our advanced Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) like Bolt, Ghost, Anvil, and future autonomous platforms.

As a Manufacturing Engineer in Drones, you will support products from the early design phase, develop/improve the manufacturing process and support production ramps for several products. You will have opportunities to own large projects from cradle to grave. The right person for this role has a high level of ownership and drive to improve their skills as a Manufacturing Engineer.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

• Support the transition of products from concept to prototype, pilot, and full production with speed, flexibility, scalability, and first‑time quality.
• Provide daily sustaining support to ensure each product line performs as intended, including real‑time problem‑solving related to mechanical fitment issues, electrical and harnessing issues, as well as software and firmware issues.
• Work with design engineers during the development process to drive design for manufacturing best practices into the design effort, and help facilitate the transition from design to prototype to rate production.
• Own documentation required for successfully manufacturing products at scale such as MBOM’s, work instructions, process flows, floor plans, time studies, capacity analysis, etc.
• Collaborate with internal customers and manufacturing planning teams to define capacity planning actions to meet customer needs and expectations.
• Work hand in hand with the broader production team to solve complex issues to ensure customer demand is met.
• Analyze metrics for continuous improvement initiatives (cost reduction, QI reduction & capacity increase).
• Instill a culture of innovation, teamwork, and accountability within the manufacturing engineering product team.
• Travel to suppliers and partner sites to do initial sourcing work, solve ongoing production issues, and implement process procedures as required.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Degree in a technical field such as engineering, math, or a hard science
• 5+ years in manufacturing or similar position
• An attitude of world‑class mission assurance, quality, attention to detail, and dedication
• A genuine interest in manufacturing and thirst for learning
• Demonstrated ability to creatively deliver hardware in a resource‐constrained environment
• Personal experience physically manufacturing hardware via any means (machining, fabrication, soldering, assembly, etc.). Work on personal or extracurricular projects is a plus
• Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience building successful production operations from scratch, often working with very little definition
• Harness & PCBA fabrication experience or proven competency in mechanical system design and analysis
• Hands‑on experience with R/C and/or autonomous flight vehicles, flight controllers, or other related control systems.
• Software scripting experience in any language.
• Experience in NX/Teamcenter

Anduril is an equal‑opportunity employer committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. The Anduril team is made up of incredibly talented and unique individuals, who together are disrupting industry norms by creating new paths towards the future of defense technology. All qualified applicants will be treated with respect and receive equal consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, uniform service, Veteran status, age, or any other protected characteristic per federal, state, or local law, including those with a criminal history, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the CA Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance. We actively encourage members of recognized minorities, women, Veterans, and those with disabilities to apply, and we work to create a welcoming and supportive environment for all applicants throughout the interview process. If you are someone passionate about working on problems that have a real‑world impact, we’d love to hear from you!

US Salary Range

$147,000 - $196,000 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 .