--- title: 'Staff Manufacturing Engineer, Autonomous Airpower at Anduril Industries' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/staff-manufacturing-engineer-autonomous-airpower-anduril-industries-costa-mesa-ky4mtnr0kypw' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-10-17' --- # Staff Manufacturing Engineer, Autonomous Airpower at Anduril Industries - **Company:** Anduril Industries - **Location:** Costa Mesa, CA - **Compensation:** $166k–$220k - **Posted:** 2026-09-30 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-17 - **Apply:** https://boards.greenhouse.io/andurilindustries/jobs/5252915007?gh_jid=5252915007 ## 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 The Air Dominance and Strike Division is one of Anduril’s fastest growing, most technically complex divisions. We develop and build collaborative combat aircraft, missiles, and the software that powers these autonomous weapons. We are scaling production of autonomous aircraft across our manufacturing facilities. Manufacturing Engineering drives process development, production readiness, and the transition from prototype to rate — ensuring that what Design engineers create can be built reliably, repeatedly, and at scale. ## ABOUT THE JOB Anduril is seeking a Staff Manufacturing Engineer to join the Autonomous Airpower manufacturing team in Costa Mesa, California. You will drive manufacturing strategy and lead transformational initiatives that define how autonomous aircraft are built at scale. This role spans the full breadth of manufacturing engineering disciplines and may focus on one or more of the following areas depending on your background: structures and composites, mechanical systems (landing gear, doors, actuators), fluid systems (hydraulic, fuel, pneumatic), propulsion integration, avionics, or harnessing and electrical integration. At this level, you are one of the most technically deep manufacturing engineers in the organization. You architect production systems, develop multi-year manufacturing technology roadmaps, and lead enterprise-wide initiatives that fundamentally reshape manufacturing capabilities. You direct large-scale programs with cross-functional and potentially cross-site impact, pioneer novel manufacturing approaches, and serve as the company’s foremost authority in your area of specialization. You balance short-term production demands with long-term capability development and play a direct role in shaping the technical trajectory of the ME organization. ## WHAT YOU’LL DO - Drive enterprise-wide manufacturing strategies for autonomous aircraft production aligned with long-term business objectives - Lead transformational initiatives that fundamentally redefine or establish manufacturing capabilities for new aircraft programs - Architect next-generation production systems that create sustainable competitive advantages in cost, quality, and throughput - Develop comprehensive manufacturing technology roadmaps spanning 3–5 year horizons - Direct large-scale, cross-functional manufacturing programs with enterprise-wide impact, managing complex capital improvement portfolios - Establish manufacturing excellence frameworks and engineering standards that become organizational benchmarks - Pioneer novel manufacturing approaches that deliver step-change improvements in cost, quality, or production rate - Serve as the foremost technical authority in your area of specialization, providing definitive direction on the most complex manufacturing challenges - Establish design-for-manufacturing frameworks in partnership with design engineering that reduce product costs and improve producibility - Develop comprehensive technical career paths and mentor high-potential engineers across the ME organization ## WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR - 12+ years of manufacturing engineering experience in aerospace, defense, or complex hardware production environments - Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Aerospace, Manufacturing, Electrical, or Industrial Engineering or equivalent hands-on manufacturing experience - Recognized subject matter expertise in one or more manufacturing disciplines with a track record of enterprise-level impact - Experience leading large-scale manufacturing programs or capital improvement portfolios ($2M+) - Demonstrated history of developing and implementing manufacturing strategies that delivered transformational results - Experience architecting production systems or leading new production line standup - Strong cross-functional leadership skills — experience driving alignment between engineering, operations, supply chain, and business leadership - Proficiency with CAD tools (CATIA, SolidWorks, NX, or equivalent) and production planning systems (ERP, MES, PLM) - Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance ## PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS - Deep expertise in one or more of the following: composite structures, mechanical systems (landing gear, flight controls, doors), fluid systems (hydraulic, fuel, pneumatic), propulsion, avionics integration, or wire harness manufacturing - Experience transitioning hardware from prototype through first-article to full-rate production - Experience with aircraft or autonomous vehicle assembly at scale - Experience developing proprietary manufacturing processes or methods with intellectual property value - Knowledge of AS9100, aerospace quality systems, and advanced process control methodologies - Experience working with Teamcenter, SAP, Oracle, or similar PLM/ERP platforms - Master’s degree in Engineering or related technical field - Active U.S. Secret security clearance Per Anduril's expansion plans, we anticipate this job will be based out of Long Beach, CA beginning late 2027. 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 - [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