Prototype Fabrication Manager

About the Team The Dev Manufacturing Team is part of Anduril’s Mechanical Engineering organization and supports rapid hardware development across prototype fabrication, machining, composites, additive manufacturing, and manufacturing development. This team helps convert early engineering concepts into physical hardware by partnering closely with design engineers, project leads, fabricators, machinists, and shop operations teams. The work spans prototype structures, welded assemblies, sheet metal parts, machined components, test articles, and production-intent development hardware. About the Job Anduril is looking for a Prototype Fabrication Manager to join our team in Costa Mesa, CA. In this role, you will lead the prototype fabrication team responsible for building and modifying development hardware across Anduril’s product portfolio. You will manage shop priorities, people, project flow, resources, safety, quality, and execution. This role requires someone who can understand technical drawings, identify build risks before work starts, prioritize competing requests, allocate team capacity, and partner with engineering to keep prototype hardware moving quickly without sacrificing safety or quality. Your Impact Lead a skilled prototype fabrication team supporting fast-moving hardware programs. Improve shop throughput by creating clear prioritization, scheduling, and resource-allocation practices. Reduce build delays by identifying drawing, material, tolerance, weld, and manufacturability issues before work is delegated. Strengthen shop execution through consistent safety, quality, onboarding, and workflow standards. Partner with engineering and project stakeholders to support rapid development from concept through completed hardware. What You’ll Do Manage a team of fabricators and machinists, including onboarding, training coordination, work assignment, performance management, and day-to-day team support. Define and apply criteria for Jira ticket prioritization, including due dates, shop capacity, personnel availability, material readiness, and product/program impact. Review drawings, models, files, and work instructions before delegating tasks, including material callouts, weld symbols, tolerances, specifications, and potential build risks. Delegate Jira tasks, monitor progress, and maintain schedules against project deadlines. Balance workload across the team, especially for high-priority or schedule-critical projects. Create and maintain the overall shop schedule. Engage in design reviews and coordinate with engineers and project leads to understand scope, technical requirements, and delivery priorities. Monitor quality, accuracy, and execution approach across assigned parts and projects. Manage raw material and consumable inventory, including welding gases, abrasives, fabrication supplies, and related shop resources. Enforce safety policies and procedures within the fabrication shop. Partner with EHS to evaluate unclear safety situations, identify hazards, and support corrective actions. Participate in interviews for new hires and help establish an effective onboarding/orientation process. Oversee manual machining operations for mill and lathe work in the fabrication area. Support decisions around shop improvements, tooling, equipment needs, and new equipment purchases. Maintain shop organization, cleanliness, safety, and readiness. Required Qualifications 10+ years of experience in prototype fabrication, job shop, machine shop, advanced manufacturing, aerospace, defense, automotive, motorsports, or similar hands-on hardware environments. 3+ years of experience managing, leading, or supervising fabricators, machinists, technicians, or similar shop-floor teams. 3+ years of experience creating or managing shop schedules, work queues, production priorities, or project/resource plans. Experience reviewing technical drawings, blueprints, CAD outputs, work instructions, weld symbols, tolerances, specifications, and material callouts. Experience with metal fabrication, structural fabrication, welding processes, sheet metal fabrication, and/or manual machining. Working knowledge of welding processes such as GMAW, FCAW, and/or GTAW. Working knowledge of manual mill and/or lathe operations. Experience managing raw materials, consumables, shop supplies, tooling, or equipment resources. Experience identifying fabrication, machining, material, tolerance, or manufacturability issues before or during a build. Must be a U.S. Person due to required access to U.S. export controlled information or facilities Preferred Qualifications CAD design software experience. Jira and/or Confluence experience. Project management experience in a prototype, job shop, fabrication, machining, manufacturing development, or hardware engineering environment. Experience supporting design reviews, build reviews, or manufacturability reviews. Experience selecting, justifying, or implementing shop equipment, tooling, or workflow improvements. Experience in aerospace, defense, robotics, automotive, motorsports, advanced manufacturing, or other hardware-intensive environments. US Salary Range US Salary Range: $120,000 – $180,000 USD 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. 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 View email address on click.appcast.io. 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 View email address on click.appcast.io. 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 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. 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