Lead Quality Inspector

Lead Quality Inspector Santa Ana, California, United States 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 is seeking a Lead Quality Inspector to join our rapidly growing manufacturing team. In this role, you will work with cutting-edge technology aimed at advancing the state-of-the-possible. You will lead and mentor a team of highly talented Quality Inspectors to produce advanced Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and other defense assets for strategic military and commercial customers. This is a highly dynamic, hands-on role that requires a unique blend of frontline technical expertise and strong leadership. The ideal candidate will have a deep technical background in aerospace structures, avionics, or propulsion systems, paired with a proven track record of guiding teams in high-stakes environments. What You'll Do Lead & Mentor: Coordinate daily team activities, schedules, and workflows. Assist inspectors in understanding work procedures, maintaining accurate work-order clocking, and meeting strict performance and safety standards. Collaborate Cross-Functional: Interface directly with Shipping, Receiving, Production, Quality Engineering, and Planning to rapidly resolve bottlenecks and support business needs. Drive Continuous Improvement: Ensure clean, organized work areas (5S). Implement training programs to foster a highly skilled, cross-functional inspector workforce. Technical Inspection: Perform and oversee in-process, final, and First Article Inspections (FAI) using advanced metrology tools, mechanical drawings, and blueprints. Problem Solve: Navigate challenging production situations by leveraging your technical knowledge and quality principles to determine the most constructive path forward. Required Qualifications High School Diploma or GED. 3+ years of experience in an aerospace, defense, military, or high-reliability hardware testing environment. U.S. Person Status is required as this position needs to access controlled data. Preferred Qualifications Industry Experience: Background working in fast-paced, high-standard aerospace/defense environments Technical Domain Expertise: Hands-on inspection experience with structural, avionics, or propulsion manufacturing. Leadership Background: Demonstrated experience leading, mentoring, or guiding teams (either in civilian manufacturing or military aviation/maintenance environments). Technical Skillset: Proficient in reading and interpreting complex engineering drawings, blueprints, and specifications using ASME Y14.5 GD&T. Skillful use of precision hand tools (micrometers, calipers, scales, gauges, height gauges) and CMM equipment. Strong understanding of AS9100/ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems. Ability to detect design and drawing flaws early in the production cycle. Operational Agility: Strong computer skills (Microsoft Excel, Outlook, Word) and the ability to seamlessly multitask between production line checks and formal FAIs. Communication: Exceptional attention to detail, work efficiency, and the ability to clearly communicate quality standards to influence engineering and production stakeholders. US Hourly Range $34 - $46 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. 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. 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.