--- title: 'DFx Engineer, Mechanical & Fluid Systems at Anduril Industries' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/dfx-engineer-mechanical-fluid-systems-anduril-industries-costa-mesa-kf8brhvnm7bz' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-10-17' --- # DFx Engineer, Mechanical & Fluid Systems at Anduril Industries - **Company:** Anduril Industries - **Location:** Costa Mesa, CA - **Compensation:** $129k–$171k - **Posted:** 2026-09-18 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-17 - **Apply:** https://boards.greenhouse.io/andurilindustries/jobs/5241712007?gh_jid=5241712007 ## 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 DFx Engineer to support design for manufacturability, assembly, and cost analysis 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 — and is an excellent opportunity for an early-career engineer to develop deep expertise in how design decisions impact producibility, supplier selection, and unit cost. Working under the guidance of Staff and Senior DFx Engineers, you will learn to evaluate designs through the lenses of manufacturability, assembly, and cost — the three factors that determine whether hardware can be produced at rate, by a qualified supplier, at an affordable price point. You will work alongside subject matter expert (SME) manufacturing engineers and design engineers, building the technical judgment and cross-functional relationships that make DFx effective. You will also gain hands-on exposure to contract manufacturer evaluation and qualification — visiting supplier facilities, participating in process assessments, and learning how to match supplier capabilities to production requirements. 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. You will grow quickly here — our programs move fast, the hardware is real, and the impact of your work shows up on the production floor and in the cost model. ## WHAT YOU'LL DO - Support DFx analysis across mechanical, structural, thermal, and fluid systems subsystems for AD&S programs, working under the guidance of Staff and Senior DFx Engineers, with a focus on manufacturability, assembly, and cost. - Participate in structured DFM/DFA/DFC reviews at key design milestones, learning and applying the scoring methodology to identify producibility and cost risks and recommend design changes. - Participate in DFMEAs with cross-functional teams. Use FMEA outputs to drive design changes, inspection strategies, and control plans. - Work with SME manufacturing engineers and design engineers to provide manufacturing and cost feedback on designs, learning to translate constraints into actionable recommendations. - Support the evaluation and qualification of contract manufacturers — participating in facility reviews, process audits, and capability assessments under the guidance of senior team members. - Help build and maintain should-cost models and cost-driver analyses for mechanical and fluid system assemblies. - Help 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 — contributing to risk assessments that inform engineering and program decisions. - Work with supply chain to understand how DFx requirements connect to sourcing strategy and supplier selection. - Collaborate with quality engineering to understand how DFx findings translate into inspection plans, acceptance criteria, and supplier quality requirements. - Spend time on the production floor and at supplier sites to build firsthand understanding of how mechanical hardware, thermal systems, and fluid components are manufactured. - Contribute to the DFx toolkit — templates, scoring rubrics, cost models, lessons-learned databases, and training materials. - 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. - 5+ years of experience in manufacturing engineering, process engineering, or a related role with exposure to mechanical systems, thermal management, or fluid systems. Co-op, internship, or capstone project experience in a manufacturing environment counts. - Foundational knowledge of mechanical manufacturing processes: CNC machining, sheet metal fabrication, welding, composite fabrication, or mechanical assembly. - Ability to read mechanical drawings, interpret GD&T, and review 3D models with an eye toward producibility. - Interest in understanding manufacturing cost drivers and how design decisions impact unit cost. - Familiarity with aerospace mechanical standards or a willingness to learn and apply them quickly. - Strong communication skills and a willingness to engage directly with design engineers, manufacturing engineers, quality, supply chain, and operations — cross-functional collaboration is the core of this job, not a side task. - Comfort working in a fast-paced environment across multiple programs simultaneously. - A genuine interest in manufacturing and a drive to understand how things are actually built and what they cost to produce. Personal experience in a machine shop, fabrication shop, or working on hardware (machining, welding, assembly, personal projects) is a strong plus. - An attitude of world-class mission assurance, quality, attention to detail, and dedication. - Self-motivated and proactive — you take initiative, ask good questions, and close the loop on what you commit to. - 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. - Internship or co-op experience in aerospace or defense mechanical manufacturing. - Exposure to DFM/DFA review processes, producibility engineering, or cost analysis. - Familiarity with AS9100 or similar quality management systems. - Experience visiting or evaluating manufacturing suppliers in any capacity. - Proficiency in CAD software (NX, CATIA, SolidWorks, or similar) sufficient to navigate and review designs. - Exposure to composite manufacturing, fluid system fabrication, or thermal management hardware production. - Experience with data analysis, cost modeling, or presentation development. - Experience with Full Size Determinant Assembly (FSDA). - Currently possesses and is able to maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance with Full-Scope Polygraph. US Salary Range $129,000—$171,000 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](https://www.anduril.com/careers). Protecting Yourself from Recruitment Scams Anduril is committed to maintaining the integrity of our Talent acquisition process and the security of our candidates. We've observed a rise in sophisticated phishing and fraudulent schemes where individuals impersonate Anduril representatives, luring job seekers with false interviews or job offers. These scammers often attempt to extract payment or sensitive personal information. To ensure your safety and help you navigate your job search with confidence, please keep the following critical points in mind: - No Financial Requests: Anduril will never solicit payment or demand personal financial details (such as banking information, credit card numbers, or social security numbers) at any stage of our hiring process. Our legitimate recruitment is entirely free for candidates. - Please always verify communications: - Direct from Anduril: If you receive an email from one of our recruiters, it will only come from an @anduril.com address. - Via Agency Partner: If contacted by a recruiting agency for an Anduril role, their email will clearly identify their agency. If you suspect any suspicious activity, please verify the agency's authenticity by reaching out to contact@anduril.com. - Exercise Caution with Unsolicited Outreach: If you receive any communication that appears suspicious, contains grammatical errors, or makes unusual requests, do not engage. Always confirm the sender's email domain is @anduril.com before providing any personal information or clicking on links. - What to Do If You Suspect Fraud: Should you encounter any questionable or fraudulent outreach claiming to be from Anduril, please report it immediately to contact@anduril.com. Your proactive caution is invaluable in protecting your personal information and upholding the security and trustworthiness of our recruitment efforts. 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. ## About Anduril Industries ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: A military technology company developing AI-powered autonomous systems and software for defense and national security. - **Entity Type**: Private (Series H) - **Headquarters**: Costa Mesa, California, USA - **Founded**: 2017 - **Founders**: Palmer Luckey, Trae Stephens, Matt Grimm, Joe Chen, Brian Schimpf ## Core Business - Primary industry: Defense, aerospace, artificial intelligence, robotics - Target customers: Primarily B2G – U.S. Department of Defense, allied governments (e.g., UK, UAE), and border security agencies (e.g., CBP) - Mission/purpose: To accelerate the adoption of advanced technology in defense, with a focus on autonomous systems, AI-driven decision-making, and rapid production at scale. ## Products & Services - **[Lattice](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anduril_Industries#Lattice)**: AI-powered software platform that fuses sensor data from multiple sources (Anduril and third-party) to detect, identify, and track objects in real time. Core to all Anduril systems. - **[Sentry Tower](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anduril_Industries#Sentry_Tower)**: Autonomous, solar-powered surveillance tower (33ft) with cameras, radar, thermal imaging, and comms – used for border security and military base protection. - **[Ghost](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anduril_Industries#Ghost)**: Small, portable unmanned aerial system (UAS) for reconnaissance and surveillance; used by U.S. Marines and other forces. - **Altius Family**: Tube-launched, fixed-wing UAVs (e.g., Altius 600, Altius 700M) that can be deployed from aircraft, ground vehicles, or larger UAVs. - **Fury (YFQ-44A)**: Semi-autonomous collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) developed for the U.S. Air Force’s CCA program; first flight in October 2025. - **IVAS (Integrated Visual Augmentation System)**: Anduril took over development from Microsoft in 2025; a heads-up display/goggle system for ground soldiers. ## Market Standing - **Valuation**: $61 billion (Series H, May 2026) – [en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anduril_Industries) - **Annual Revenue**: $2 billion (2025) – [en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anduril_Industries) - **Total Funding**: ~$12.7 billion (across all rounds, including $5B raise in May 2026) – [robotics.press](https://robotics.press/news/anduril-deep-dive/) - **Notable Investors**: Founders Fund, Andreessen Horowitz, Thrive Capital, 8VC, General Catalyst, Lux Capital, Valor Equity Partners, D1 Capital Partners, Sands Capital - **Notable Customers/Partners**: U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Space Force, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), UK Home Office, Royal Navy, Edge Group (UAE), OpenAI - **Growth Signals**: - Raised $5B in May 2026 at a $61B valuation, up from $14B in August 2024 - Constructing Arsenal-1, a $1B hyperscale manufacturing facility in Ohio, with partnerships from Ohio State University - Acquired multiple companies between 2021-2026 (Area-I, Adranos, Blue Force Technologies, Numerica, Klas, ExoAnalytic Solutions, etc.) - Won contracts for CCA development (Air Force), robotic combat vehicle software (Army), and CBP border surveillance - Took over IVAS program from Microsoft (2025) - Employees grew from ~90 in 2017 to 7,000 in 2026 ## Competitive Advantages - **Vertically integrated**: Designs, manufactures, and operates its own hardware (drones, towers, missiles) and software (Lattice), enabling rapid iteration. - **AI-first approach**: Lattice provides a common operating picture across domains, reducing decision latency in combat scenarios. - **Speed of production**: Arsenal projects aim to produce advanced autonomous systems faster than traditional defense primes. - **Government trust**: Deep relationships with DoD and allied agencies, demonstrated by multi-million-dollar contracts and classified work. - **In-person, security-focused culture**: Proximity to military bases, industrial equipment, and classified contract requirements create a unique operational moat. ## Strategic Focus - **Hyperscale manufacturing**: Build Arsenal-1 (Ohio) and subsequent “Arsenal” facilities to manufacture autonomous weapons at near-peer-competitive speed. - **Space domain**: Acquired ExoAnalytic Solutions (March 2026) to expand into space-based intelligence and surveillance. - **Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA)**: Fury is a key program; competing for Air Force’s CCA Increment 1. - **International expansion**: Partnership with UAE’s Edge Group; sales to UK (Royal Navy, Home Office); plans to serve other Five Eyes and allied nations. - **AI integration**: Partnership with OpenAI to enhance defense systems; Lattice already used by Space Force for surveillance networks. ## Why Work Here - **Mission-driven work**: Direct impact on national security and defense technology – opportunity to work on cutting-edge AI, robotics, and autonomous systems. - **Culture**: Emphasizes in-person collaboration due to security requirements, industrial equipment, and classified programs. Offices include Costa Mesa (HQ), Boston, Atlanta, Seattle, Washington D.C., London, and Sydney. - **Growth trajectory**: Company has grown from 90 employees to 7,000 in ~9 years; significant investment in new facilities and acquisitions indicates continued expansion. - **Engineering focus**: Heavy investment in software, AI, hardware, and manufacturing engineering – roles span from software engineers to aerospace engineers to production specialists. - **Notable perks/benefits**: Not detailed in public sources, but the company offers competitive compensation in a high-stakes, high-impact environment. The Ohio Arsenal-1 facility will employ many from Ohio State University’s applied science programs. ## Sources 1. [en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anduril_Industries) – Wikipedia: Anduril Industries (key facts, revenue, employee count, product details, funding, acquisitions) 2. [tracxn.com](https://tracxn.com/d/companies/anduril/__qqOI0HKR47lFXorj9FAQlDfmJOqfOpDNWiW3JcO--ss) – Tracxn: Anduril company profile, funding stage, founders 3. [robotics.press](https://robotics.press/news/anduril-deep-dive/) – Robotics Press: Deep dive on valuation, revenue, total funding, employee estimate 4. [anduril.com/careers](https://www.anduril.com/careers) – Official careers page (search result summary) 5. [anduril.com/open-roles](https://www.anduril.com/open-roles) – Open roles listing ## Other roles at Anduril Industries - [Senior Test Site Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-test-site-manager-anduril-industries-ashville-j96w4xm6x0yn) — Ashville, OH - [Finance, Master Data Management](https://feeny.ai/job/finance-master-data-management-anduril-industries-costa-mesa-t27eash199n7) — Costa Mesa, CA - [Engineer, Systems & Tools](https://feeny.ai/job/engineer-systems-tools-anduril-industries-costa-mesa-5yydp1yy7tnm) — Costa Mesa, CA - [Product Manager, ERP](https://feeny.ai/job/product-manager-erp-anduril-industries-costa-mesa-xgg5abs9n8cv) — Costa Mesa, CA - [Classified Platform Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/classified-platform-engineer-anduril-industries-costa-mesa-kmqy63ef38wt) — Costa Mesa, CA - [Sustainment Engineer, Fury](https://feeny.ai/job/sustainment-engineer-fury-anduril-industries-costa-mesa-3ptrmhtcp9wj) — Costa Mesa, CA - [Senior Mission Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-mission-software-engineer-anduril-industries-waltham-thg3m6cecgxp) — Waltham, MA - [Mission Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/mission-software-engineer-anduril-industries-waltham-gpp762vcn18f) — Waltham, MA - [Vehicle Battery Systems Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/vehicle-battery-systems-engineer-anduril-industries-santa-ana-vw9mmbxam1az) — Santa Ana, CA - [Vehicle Energy Systems Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/vehicle-energy-systems-lead-anduril-industries-costa-mesa-xqpjjd7hyjbz) — Costa Mesa, CA