Senior Project Engineer, AD&S

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

Benefits offered by this job

Equity grants

Competitive benefits

Job summary

Anduril Industries is hiring a Senior Project Engineer for the Air Dominance & Strike Manufacturing Engineering team. You will ensure manufacturing readiness across missiles, loitering munitions, and autonomous aircraft, assembling stage gate materials, and coordinating with PMs, Chief Engineers, and ME managers to keep gates on schedule.

You will also lead cross-functional projects, improve processes as programs scale, and travel to production sites as needed.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related field.
• 7+ years in manufacturing engineering with stage gates or readiness activities.
• Experience supporting hardware from prototype through production.

Responsibilities

• Prepare and coordinate stage gate deliverables and review decks for multiple programs.
• Track action items, risks, and readiness gaps and drive closure before reviews.
• Collaborate with product, design, quality, supply chain, and operations across timelines.
• Lead cross-functional projects and provide manufacturing perspectives in trades and investigations.
• Develop stage gate templates, checklists, and standards; support travel to production sites (<10%).

Skills

Cross-functional collaboration

Project management

Technical communication

Manufacturing engineering

Hardware production

Education

Bachelor's in Mechanical/Manufacturing/Aerospace/Industrial Eng.

Master's degree (preferred)

Tools

CAD software

Manufacturing technologies

AS9100 / AS9102 knowledge

MRL assessments

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 JOB

Anduril’s Air Dominance & Strike (AD&S) Manufacturing Engineering team is seeking a Senior Project Engineer to support the execution of Manufacturing Development Plan (MDP) and Product Development Process (PDP) stage gate deliverables across AD&S programs. This role spans both Air Strike and Air Dominance product lines — from cruise missiles and loitering munitions to autonomous aircraft — and plays a key part in ensuring that manufacturing engineering milestones are met on time, with the right content, at every gate.

Working under the guidance of Staff-level Project Engineers, you will be directly involved in the preparation, coordination, and delivery of stage gate review materials. You are a manufacturing engineer first — your understanding of how products are built gives you the credibility to assess whether gate deliverables accurately reflect manufacturing readiness. You will work with Product Program Managers, Program Managers, Chief Engineers, and Manufacturing Engineering managers and their teams to assemble review decks, track action items, and help drive gate content to completion.

Beyond stage gate support, you will take on ad-hoc, cross-functional projects as the Manufacturing Engineering representative — stepping in to support design, quality, supply chain, or operations when an experienced ME perspective is needed. This role is built for someone who thrives on cross-functional collaboration, stays organized across multiple workstreams, and is growing toward the kind of senior technical leadership that defines how an organization executes.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

• Support the execution of MDP and PDP stage gate deliverables for manufacturing engineering across AD&S programs, working under the guidance of Staff Project Engineers to ensure completeness, technical accuracy, and on-time delivery.
• Coordinate with PPMs, PMs, Chief Engineers, and ME managers to gather, organize, and prepare stage gate review decks and presentations.
• Track stage gate action items, open risks, and manufacturing readiness gaps — following up with owners to drive closure ahead of gate reviews.
• Review ME stage gate content for quality and completeness, flagging gaps and working with program teams to address them before reviews.
• Coordinate across multiple programs running on different timelines, helping ensure each team has the information and structure needed to hit their gates.
• Represent Manufacturing Engineering on ad-hoc, cross-functional projects as assigned — providing an experienced ME perspective in design trades, quality investigations, supply chain decisions, and operational problem-solving.
• Build and maintain strong working relationships with design engineering, quality, supply chain, operations, and program management on a daily basis — cross-functional collaboration is the core of this job.
• Drive assigned projects to completion, taking ownership from problem definition through resolution.
• Help identify gaps and inconsistencies in stage gate processes and contribute to improvements that make the system more effective as programs scale.
• Contribute to the development and maintenance of stage gate templates, checklists, and standards.
• Travel to production sites and partner facilities as needed (<10%).

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related field.
• 7+ years of experience in manufacturing engineering, with exposure to product development processes, stage gate reviews, or manufacturing readiness activities.
• Solid understanding of manufacturing processes and what manufacturing maturity looks like at different phases of product development — you have supported hardware from prototype through production.
• Proven ability to work cross-functionally with program management, design engineering, quality, supply chain, and operations.
• Strong ability to build relationships across functions and drive projects to completion through collaboration, not authority.
• Experience contributing to or preparing technical review presentations for engineering and program leadership.
• Strong organizational and project management skills — ability to track deliverables across multiple concurrent programs and keep things moving.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to translate manufacturing topics into clear content for stage gate reviews.
• Self-motivated and proactive — you follow through on commitments and close the loop without being chased.
• Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, high-growth environment where processes are still being built and refined.
• Personal experience on the production floor — you have built, tested, or directly supported the manufacturing of hardware.
• 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, business, or a related field.
• Experience in aerospace or defense manufacturing, particularly with qualified or flight-critical hardware programs.
• Familiarity with AS9100/AS9102 quality management systems and their intersection with stage gate processes.
• Exposure to manufacturing readiness level (MRL) assessments or similar maturity frameworks.
• Background in Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, or other process improvement methodologies applied in a production environment.
• Proficiency in CAD software and familiarity with manufacturing technologies across multiple disciplines (machining, composites, electronics, assembly).
• Appropriate clearance classification.

Per Anduril’s expansion plans, we anticipate this job will be based out of Long Beach, CA beginning late 2027.

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:

Benefits

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.