Senior Manager, Manufacturing Engineering, Space
Anduril Industries · Costa Mesa, CA
- Level
- Manager
- Team
- Manufacturing
- Travel
- 25%
- Degree
- Preferred
- Experience asked
- 8+ years
- Industry
- Aerospace & defense
- Posted
- 30+ days ago
The role in 30 seconds
A management manufacturing role at Anduril Industries (aerospace & defense) in Costa Mesa, CA.
- They ask for
- 8+ years · degree preferred
- Tools it names
- Machining, Plant layout, Tooling
- Day to day
- about 25% travel
Read from the posting. The full description is below.
From the plant jobs report · week of October 19, 2026
Manufacturing Engineer roles in California: typical posted base $114k–$167k.
Median of the low and high ends of 117 live postings that list pay, out of 320 manufacturing engineer openings in California, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.
California plant jobs report →Pay by team and state →What moves pay →
How this role compares
Against 319 other live manufacturing postings in California.
- Base pay
- Not listed in this posting
- Experience asked
- More than usual (8+ vs 5+)
Typical $111k–$157k, from 105 postings that list pay.
Similar roles usually ask 5+ years.
Skills these teams ask for most
- ✓ Tooling 53%
- ✓ New product launch 51%
- Root cause 40%
- Automation 35%
- ✓ Machining 29%
- CATIA / NX 29%
✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.
Stands out: this posting asks for Plant layout, Python, which few similar roles mention. If you have it, lead with it.
At a glance
Pulled from the posting text. If it's not listed here, the posting didn't say.
How to get in at this plant
Five moves over a week or two. The first one takes ten minutes.
- 1
Pick 2–3 people on the Manufacturing team at Anduril Industries
We found 2 people at this company and state: 2 in this kind of role. Engineers who joined in the last year or two reply the most. See them ↓
- 2
Send a short, curious note
One real question about their work. No favors yet. Each person gets a different note, written for this role.
Write to Kevin → (free) - 3
Turn a reply into a short call
Questions worth asking about this team:
- What does a normal week look like on your team?
- Is the work mostly new product launches or sustaining existing lines?
- How much time do you spend on the floor versus at a desk?
- The posting says about 25% travel. Between which sites?
- How did you land the job? What stood out in your interviews?
- 4
Apply with someone vouching for you
If the call went well, ask whether they’d pass your résumé to the hiring manager. Send your résumé link, apply that day, and let them know.
- 5
Bring proof to the interview
One page of before-and-after numbers from projects you led: scrap, OEE, cycle time, cost. Plant managers hire on results.
This plant: Anduril Industries in Costa Mesa
156 other open roles at this site · 2 people we found in manufacturing roles at Anduril Industries.
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- Senior Supplier Industrialization Engineer, Electromagnetic Warfare · Industrial · Senior
Full description from Anduril IndustriesAs posted on their careers site.ShowHide
requirements
and a zero-defect mentality.
- ✓Provide technical guidance on manufacturing facility layout, equipment selection, and tooling design for both pilot builds and production environments, including cleanroom operations.
Required qualifications
- ✓Degree in a technical field preferred such as engineering, math, or a hard science.
- ✓At least 8+ years of experience in a relevant field, preferably space and satellite manufacturing, systems engineering, or design of electromechanical hardware.
- ✓Demonstrated ability to creatively deliver electromechanical hardware in a resource-constrained environment.
- ✓Experience in unit-level/space vehicle/system integration, assembly, and environmental testing (eg., vibration, thermal vacuum, acoustic, shock, and EMI/EMC)
- ✓Background in integration and testing of avionics/optical payloads, solar, propulsion, ADCS, or other space hardware.
- ✓Proven team leadership skills, with examples of successfully managing and developing a diverse team.
- ✓Personal experience physically manufacturing hardware through various methods (machining, fabrication, soldering, assembly, etc.). Work on personal or extracurricular projects is a plus.
- ✓Possess the ability to understand new concepts quickly; apply them accurately; organize, schedule, and coordinate work phases; and, determine the appropriate approach at the task level or, with assistance, at the project level to provide solutions to a range of complex problems.
- ✓Familiarity with CAD software, Manufacturing Execution systems, and ERP/MRP systems.
- ✓A genuine interest in manufacturing and a thirst for learning, particularly in the space domain.
- ✓Willingness to travel frequently (>25%) to support global manufacturing operations
- ✓Demonstrated success in scaling product testing and production from one to tens/hundreds.
- ✓Active security clearance or ability to obtain a security clearance.
Preferred qualifications
- ✓Experience in test hardware and software development
- ✓Software scripting experience in python
- ✓Experience writing test plans, procedures, and work instruction documentation.
- ✓Ability to work effectively in space manufacturing environments.
- ✓Demonstrated skill at driving and questioning design and customer requirements.
$183,000 — $243,000 USD
Show full description ↓Show less ↑
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
We are seeking a highly experienced and dynamic Senior Manager of Manufacturing Engineering to lead our manufacturing engineering efforts across multiple critical space programs. This pivotal role demands a visionary leader with deep technical expertise in advanced aerospace manufacturing, a proven track record of bringing complex space-qualified hardware from prototype to production, and an unwavering commitment to quality and mission success.
The Senior Manager will be responsible for overseeing manufacturing engineering teams and developing robust processes to ensure the successful fabrication, assembly, integration and test of high-reliability space components and systems. This individual will be instrumental in bridging the gap between design and production, ensuring manufacturability, cost-effectiveness, and adherence to the most stringent space-flight quality standards.
Strategic and Technical Leadership
- •Recruit, mentor, develop, and lead a high-performing team of manufacturing engineers and integration & test engineers and foster a culture of innovation, excellence, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
- •Serve as the primary manufacturing engineering lead for several assigned space programs, ensuring technical alignment and execution.
- •Oversee the development, implementation, and optimization of manufacturing processes for complex, high-precision space-qualified hardware, including structures, propulsion, avionics, thermal systems, and optical components.
- •Drive the vision and strategy for growing Anduril's space program, identifying new opportunities and areas for innovation.
New Product Introduction
- •Ensure robust Design for Manufacturability (DFM) and Design for Assembly (DFA) principles are integrated throughout the product lifecycle, influencing design decisions from early concept phases.
- •Lead Manufacturing Readiness Reviews (MRR) and production readiness assessments.
- •Lead Test Readiness Reviews (TRR) and test campaign readiness assessments.
- •Oversee the design, development, documentation, and optimization of manufacturing processes for highly complex, space components, sub-systems, and integrated systems.
- •Establish and enforce rigorous quality control standards and inspection methods, ensuring all hardware meets stringent space-grade
Cross-Functional Collaboration
- •Serve as the primary manufacturing engineering interface with Design Engineering, Supply Chain, Program Management, Test, and Operations.
- •Collaborate with Supply Chain to assess supplier manufacturing capabilities, quality, and readiness for critical components.
- •Support proposals, technical reviews, and customer briefings, representing manufacturing engineering capabilities and strategy.