Manager, Manufacturing Engineering
Anduril Industries · Santa Ana, CA
- Level
- Manager
- Team
- Manufacturing
- Degree
- Required
- 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 Santa Ana, CA. Hands-on experience with Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) and Product Data Management (PDM) software.
- They ask for
- 8+ years · degree required
- Tools it names
- Root cause, SPC, Validation (IQ/OQ/PQ), Machining, Tooling, MES
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 SPC, 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?
- 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 Santa Ana
33 other open roles at this site · 2 people we found in manufacturing roles at Anduril Industries.
- Head of Production, Maritime · Production · Director+
- Field Operations Engineer, Deployment Handling · Production
- Quality Technician, Maritime Production · Quality · Technician
- Industrial Engineer, Maritime Manufacturing · Industrial
- Production Operations Manager, Maritime Manufacturing · Production · Manager
- Senior Quality Specialist - Core Tech · Quality · Technician
Full description from Anduril IndustriesAs posted on their careers site.ShowHide
Required qualifications
- ✓8+ years of manufacturing engineering experience, including at least 3 years in a direct leadership or managerial capacity.
- ✓Demonstrated success leading NPI teams and scaling multiple complex hardware products into high-rate production.
- ✓Deep technical foundation in mechanical assembly, electrical integration, composite fabrication, or precision machining.
- ✓Hands-on experience with Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) and Product Data Management (PDM) software.
- ✓Proven track record using first-principles problem-solving to balance aggressive timelines, budgets, and resource allocation in a fast-paced environment.
- ✓Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance.
Preferred qualifications
- ✓Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Manufacturing, Mechanical, Industrial Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
- ✓Direct experience in maritime, naval, or aerospace defense, with knowledge of NAVSEA or MIL-SPEC standards.
- ✓Experience with ERP systems for production and material planning.
- ✓Background in statistical process control (SPC), process characterization, and qualifying automated assembly and test equipment.
- ✓Active Secret or Top Secret security clearance.
$147,000 — $196,000 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 ad
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 team
Anduril’s Manufacturing Technology, Maritime Team is seeking a Senior Manufacturing Engineer, Maritime Systems. The Maritime Manufacturing Technology Team is responsible for rapidly developing and implementing manufacturing technologies and processes for cutting-edge defense hardware, including deployable static and moving surface, undersea and sea to air vehicles and scaling these products in our new manufacturing facilities.
About the job
We are looking for a Manager of Manufacturing Engineering to lead and scale our manufacturing engineering and planning teams in Santa Ana, CA. In this role, you will define how we build complex maritime hardware, driving manufacturing strategy from component fabrication through vehicle integration and testing. You will champion robust, repeatable processes compliant with rigorous standards (such as NAVSEA), mentor engineering talent, and partner cross-functionally to transition products from R&D into high-rate production on time and within budget.
What you’ll do
- •Team Leadership & Development : Lead, mentor, and task a team of manufacturing engineers and planners to achieve departmental and company goals.
- •Manufacturing Strategy & Scaling : Define and execute the manufacturing roadmap and qualification strategies to rapidly transition complex maritime systems from R&D to full-rate production.
- •Planning & Execution : Direct the creation of manufacturing plans, optimize routings in the MES (Forge), and oversee the translation of 2D/3D drawings into clear shop-floor work instructions.
- •BOM & Configuration Management : Own the strategy and execution for the Manufacturing Bill of Materials (MBOM) and as-built configuration tracking from the EBOM.
- •DFX Leadership : Lead DFM, DFA, and DFT producibility assessments, driving upstream collaboration with design engineering to optimize for cost, quality, and scalability.
- •Continuous Improvement : Lead root-cause analysis, statistical process validations, and yield optimization to resolve production discrepancies.
- •Cross-Functional Alignment : Act as the primary technical interface across Design, Quality, Supply Chain, Tooling, and Operations to manage schedules, resources, and budgets.