--- title: 'Senior Manager, Test Operations, Space at Anduril Industries' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-manager-test-operations-space-anduril-industries-costa-mesa-95h0pyfa7seg' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-11-07' --- # Senior Manager, Test Operations, Space at Anduril Industries - **Company:** Anduril Industries - **Location:** Costa Mesa, CA - **Compensation:** $166k–$220k - **Posted:** 2026-09-18 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-07 - **Apply:** https://boards.greenhouse.io/andurilindustries/jobs/5225988007?gh_jid=5225988007 ## 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 TEAM We are seeking a highly experienced and dynamic Senior Manager, Test Operations to lead our Development and Production Testing efforts across multiple critical space programs. ## WHAT YOU’LL DO Anduril's Space business is standing up manufacturing and test for multiple space vehicle lines at once — moving from development builds today into full rate production within four years. The Senior Manager, Test Operations will build and lead the test organization that makes that ramp possible: vehicle and subassembly acceptance and qualification test, environmental test operations, test station and ground support equipment engineering, and the procedures and data systems behind them. This is a build role, not a sustaining one. The production test organization does not exist yet — you will define it, hire it, and stand up its capability inside a new production facility whose environmental test infrastructure is still being defined. Test throughput and cost-effectiveness are the binding constraint on our production rate; architecture decisions defined today will have lasting impacts to production rate success. Test Organization and Leadership - Recruit, mentor and lead a multi-domain test organization spanning functional and electrical test, environmental test, test station and GSE engineering, and test operations — growing from initial hires toward a projected 40+ positions through the production ramp. - Own the transfer of test knowledge, procedures and tooling from development-site test engineers into the production test team, including training, certification and proficiency standards for test engineers and technicians. - Coordinate closely with Launch Operations stakeholders to ensure all System Test procedures, resources, and approval criteria are followed during launch campaigns. As needed, deployed Test personnel to support, train, and oversee launch operations to ensure compliance. Test Campaign Definition and Execution - Define and own vehicle-level and subassembly acceptance test procedures and qualification campaigns, including test flow, entrance and exit criteria, and data review gates. - Lead Test Readiness Reviews and test campaign readiness assessments; serve as approval authority for test procedures run on flight hardware. - Own environmental test execution — thermal vacuum, sine and random vibration, acoustic, shock, thermal cycling, and EMI/EMC — including chamber and table scheduling, fixture and instrumentation readiness, and anomaly disposition. Design for Test - Drive design-for-test requirements into vehicle, payload and subassembly designs before CDR, with the explicit objective of reducing test duration and test station count at rate. - Challenge inherited test requirements: identify tests that can be combined, moved to a lower assembly level, automated, or eliminated at acceptable risk, and carry those cases through the requirement owners with data. Capability, Facility and Rate - Specify production environmental test capability — chamber count and size, vibration table capacity, EMI/EMC screen rooms — and own the test capacity model behind it. - Represent test operations up and out: support proposal development and Basis of Estimate content for test scope, present at technical and milestone reviews, and brief customers and business line leadership on test readiness, capability and risk. ## REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS - Bachelor's degree in engineering, physics or a related technical field. - 10+ years in spacecraft or space vehicle integration and test, including 5+ years leading test engineers or technicians, and technical lead or manager on at least two complete environmental qualification or acceptance campaigns from procedure definition through data review and disposition. - Hands-on ownership of at least three of: thermal vacuum, sine or random vibration, acoustic, shock, thermal cycling, EMI/EMC to MIL-STD-461 or equivalent. - Managed a team of 10 or more engineers and/or technicians spanning at least two test domains — for example functional and electrical test plus environmental test, or test operations plus test station engineering. - Working knowledge of a recognized space test standard such as SMC-S-016, GSFC-STD-7000 (GEVS) or MIL-STD-1540, including where you tailored it and why. - Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance ## PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS - A quantified improvement in test throughput or cycle time that you can explain mechanically — for example scaling test capacity by 3x or more, or reducing test flow duration by 20% or more. - Authored or approved 10 or more test procedures executed on flight hardware. - Has represented a test or manufacturing organization up and out: contributed to proposal and Basis of Estimate content, and briefed customers or executive leadership on readiness and risk. Both the written and the in-person sides matter here. - Stood up an environmental test capability or a test organization from zero — chamber and table procurement, commissioning, facility interface, first-article campaigns. - Took a spacecraft or complex electromechanical product from single-digit annual builds into rate production of 100+ units per year. - Supported space vehicle test through to Launch and Operations - Python scripting and test automation; experience with automated test execution and test data pipelines. - Operated in both classified and unclassified cleanroom environments. - Currently possesses and is able to maintain an active U.S. Top Secret or U.S. Top Secret SCI security clearance US Salary Range $166,000—$220,000 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 - [Curriculum Developer](https://feeny.ai/job/curriculum-developer-anduril-industries-santa-ana-6htrphsn60v0) — Santa Ana, CA - [Program Manager, Maintenance](https://feeny.ai/job/program-manager-maintenance-anduril-industries-ashville-1yx960a04m6j) — Ashville, OH - [Growth Operations Associate](https://feeny.ai/job/growth-operations-associate-anduril-industries-costa-mesa-7gc7sar8jzw5) — Costa Mesa, CA - [Supplier Quality Engineer - Sentry](https://feeny.ai/job/supplier-quality-engineer-sentry-anduril-industries-irvine-tvr0x3ya168c) — Irvine, CA - [Senior Supplier Quality Engineer - Sentry](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-supplier-quality-engineer-sentry-anduril-industries-irvine-5befszzye81w) — Irvine, CA - [Senior Flight Test Engineer, Omen](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-flight-test-engineer-omen-anduril-industries-costa-mesa-fm2827kf0cba) — Costa Mesa, CA - [Flight Test Engineer, Omen](https://feeny.ai/job/flight-test-engineer-omen-anduril-industries-costa-mesa-hyw4vy9wrt79) — Costa Mesa, CA - [Senior Flight Test Engineer - Advanced Effects (Roadrunner)](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-flight-test-engineer-advanced-effects-roadrunner-anduril-industries-y08jtpec5qct) — Costa Mesa, CA - [Mailroom Specialist](https://feeny.ai/job/mailroom-specialist-anduril-industries-costa-mesa-prawmqn0hskd) — Costa Mesa, CA - [Senior Manager, Counter Intrusion](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-manager-counter-intrusion-anduril-industries-irvine-v6nk24cjap5g) — Irvine, CA