Senior Manager, Manufacturing Engineering — Autonomous Airpower

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 TEAMThe 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 JOBAnduril is seeking a Senior Manager of Manufacturing Engineering to lead ME strategy and execution across the Autonomous Airpower portfolio. This is not a single-program role — you will be the manufacturing engineering voice across every aircraft program in the portfolio, from early concept through full-rate production. You will work directly with chief engineers, program managers, and the growth team to shape what gets built, how it gets built, and whether it can be built on cost and on schedule.You are the first person from the ME organization that program managers and growth leads turn to when evaluating emerging capabilities. You provide the manufacturing perspective on what is realistic and achievable — grounding engineering ambitions in production reality. You understand every phase of the aircraft lifecycle: DFM input during design, participation in design reviews, prototype and first-article builds, LRIP standup, and the transition to full-rate production. You know what it takes to go from a clean-sheet aircraft concept to hardware rolling off a production line.You will build and lead a team of manufacturing engineers, set the technical direction for the ME organization, and represent manufacturing engineering to directors and executives. This role requires someone who has lived aircraft manufacturing — not managed it from a distance — and who can move fluidly between a factory floor conversation and an executive review.WHAT YOU'LL DOLead manufacturing engineering strategy and execution across the full Autonomous Airpower portfolio, spanning multiple aircraft programs in various stages of maturityServe as the primary ME point of contact for program managers and the growth team on emerging capabilities — providing early-stage assessments of manufacturability, cost, schedule, and production feasibilityPartner with chief engineers and design leadership during all phases of engineering development, from concept trades and DFM input through design reviews, prototype builds, LRIP, and full-rate productionBuild, develop, and lead a high-performing team of manufacturing engineers across disciplines — structures, mechanical systems, fluid systems, propulsion, avionics, and harnessingDrive cross-functional alignment between engineering, supply chain, manufacturing operations, program management, quality, and leadership to ensure production readiness across programsOwn the ME cost and schedule position for your portfolio — developing estimates, tracking execution, identifying risks, and presenting status to directors and executivesRepresent manufacturing engineering in executive reviews, program gate reviews, and customer-facing discussions, translating production realities into clear, actionable information for senior leadershipEstablish manufacturing engineering standards, processes, and best practices that scale across programs and production sitesEvaluate and advise on make-vs-buy decisions, capital investments, and production strategies based on deep knowledge of aircraft manufacturing capabilities and constraintsDrive production readiness across the portfolio — MBOMs, process maturity, tooling readiness, rate-readiness assessments — ensuring programs are set up to succeed at each production milestoneREQUIRED QUALIFICATIONSBachelor's degree in Mechanical, Aerospace, Manufacturing, Electrical, or Industrial Engineering12+ years of manufacturing engineering experience in aerospace or defense, with significant time spent on aircraft programsDeep, hands-on knowledge of aircraft manufacturing across multiple disciplines — structures/composites, mechanical systems, fluid systems, avionics, harnessing, or propulsionExperience across the full aircraft production lifecycle: DFM, design reviews, prototype/first-article builds, LRIP, and full-rate production5+ years of experience leading and developing manufacturing engineering teamsDemonstrated ability to assess emerging programs and provide credible manufacturing cost, schedule, and feasibility inputsExperience presenting manufacturing status, risks, and recommendations to director-level and executive audiencesStrong cross-functional leadership — proven ability to drive alignment across engineering, operations, supply chain, program management, and business leadershipExperience managing manufacturing engineering budgets and cost positions across multiple programsEligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearancePREFERRED QUALIFICATIONSExperience standing up new aircraft production lines from scratch — from facility planning through rate productionExperience working directly with growth or business development teams to shape proposals and production strategies for new aircraft programsExperience with autonomous aircraft, UAV, or advanced air vehicle programsKnowledge of EVMS, earned value reporting, and program control fundamentalsExperience with Manufacturing Readiness Levels (MRL) and Manufacturing Readiness Assessments (MRA)Experience working with Teamcenter, SAP, Oracle, or similar PLM/ERP platformsMaster's degree in Engineering, Business, or related fieldActive U.S. Secret security clearanceUS Salary Range$183,000—$243,000 USDThe 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: BenefitsAt 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 ScamsAnduril 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. 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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 PrivacyTo 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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