Test Operations Manager - Lab Scheduling & Reliability

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

Job summary

Anduril Industries in California is seeking a Test Operations Manager to provide dedicated operational leadership across ETC's physical test labs. You will own the master schedule, manage calibration technicians and coordinators, and drive utilization while maintaining safety and compliance across multiple sites.

The role requires 5+ years in operations or lab management, strong leadership, and the ability to coordinate across engineering, program, and leadership teams.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in operations management, lab management, or facility management in aerospace, defense, manufacturing, or physical test environments.
• Experience directly managing technical teams such as technicians, coordinators, or similar roles.
• Proven track record of managing complex scheduling across shared resources with competing stakeholders.
• Understanding of physical test laboratory operations, calibration requirements, and test equipment maintenance.
• Experience developing and implementing standard operating procedures and process documentation.
• Strong analytical skills with ability to define, track, and act on operational metrics.
• Excellent written and verbal communication with cross‑functional interface capabilities.
• Ability to work independently, prioritize, and deliver results with minimal oversight.
• Strong attention to detail with a commitment to safety, quality, and compliance.
• Must be a U.S. Person per ITAR; knowledge of OSHA regulations and lab safety.
• Experience using ticketing systems (e.g., JIRA) to manage workflows.

Responsibilities

• Directly manage a team of calibration technicians, a lab administrator, and lab coordinators, including hiring, performance reviews, and day-to-day direction.
• Develop staffing plans to support current and projected lab utilization across all test domains.
• Support scaling of ETC's physical footprint, including capacity expansion and new facility standups.
• Own and maintain the master lab schedule across all facilities and ensure access to time and equipment.
• Resolve scheduling conflicts between program priorities and resource availability.
• Drive toward a 75% equipment utilization target across all assets.
• Define, track, and report operational metrics such as utilization, schedule adherence, downtime, and backlog.
• Oversee equipment maintenance, calibration status, and readiness of lab assets.
• Establish preventive and corrective maintenance programs to minimize downtime.
• Coordinate with external vendors for repair, calibration services, and new equipment installations.
• Maintain asset inventory and lifecycle records.
• Develop and enforce SOPs for lab operations, scheduling, and equipment use.
• Ensure safety protocols, PPE, and hazardous material handling compliance; partner with EHS for safety certifications.
• Serve as primary contact for program teams requesting lab time or calibration services.
• Provide regular status reporting to senior leadership on operations, capacity, and risks.
• Coordinate procurement for lab consumables, spares, and capital equipment.
• Lead programmatic layout planning for labs with facilities engineering alignment.
• Manage lab operations workflows in JIRA, triaging maintenance requests and scheduling tasks.

Skills

Operations management

Team leadership

Scheduling

SOP development

Analytical skills

Safety/compliance

Written communication

Independent work

Detail oriented

JIRA usage

Tools

JIRA

Job description

Anduril Industries in California is seeking a Test Operations Manager to provide dedicated operational leadership across ETC's physical test labs. You will own the master schedule, manage calibration technicians and coordinators, and drive utilization while maintaining safety and compliance across multiple sites.

The role requires 5+ years in operations or lab management, strong leadership, and the ability to coordinate across engineering, program, and leadership teams.