Lead Manufacturing Engineer, Space
Anduril Industries · Costa Mesa, CA
- Level
- Manager
- Team
- Manufacturing
- Travel
- 25%
- Degree
- Required
- Experience asked
- 8+ years
- Industry
- Aerospace & defense
- Posted
- Today
The role in 30 seconds
A management manufacturing role at Anduril Industries (aerospace & defense) in Costa Mesa, CA. Export-controlled information or facilities.
- They ask for
- 8+ years · degree required
- Tools it names
- GD&T, Automation, Machining, Painting / coating, Tooling, SolidWorks
- 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 Painting / coating, SAP, 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
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Full description from Anduril IndustriesAs posted on their careers site.ShowHide
About the role
Anduril’s Space Manufacturing team is seeking a Lead Manufacturing Engineer to join our team. Your expertise will help ensure that our products meet the highest standards of quality and reliability at Anduril. As the Lead Manufacturing Engineer, you will be a technical leader responsible for owning the manufacturing strategy and execution for complex spacecraft hardware.Our team's scope encompasses the entire vehicle integration value chain, including Design for Manufacturability, advanced manufacturing process development, tooling design & selection, supplier technical management, quality system implementation, and comprehensive work documentation. You will lead cross-functional initiatives, mentor junior engineers, and drive excellence across our products
The ideal candidate demonstrates proven leadership in solving complex technical challenges with innovative, practical solutions in fast-paced, resource-constrained environments. You have successfully scaled manufacturing processes from prototype through production and have a track record of delivering high-reliability hardware on aggressive timelines.
Required qualifications
- ✓Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Aerospace, Manufacturing or Industrial Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
- ✓8+ years designing production tooling, fixtures or mechanical ground support equipment for aerospace, space, defense or another high-reliability industry.
- ✓A portfolio of tooling or MGSE personally designed and saw through to released drawings, fabrication and use on the floor
- ✓Strong CAD proficiency (NX, SolidWorks or CREO) with sound GD&T practice on tooling drawings.
- ✓Structural sizing and load path analysis experience for handling and lift hardware, including proof load and lift certification requirements.
- ✓Experience designing tooling or MGSE that operated inside a cleanroom, and can defend the material, coating and lubricant choices that made it acceptable. Familiarity with IEST-STD-CC1246 and ASTM E595.
- ✓Experience specifying and procuring tooling or capital equipment through a supply chain — specifications, vendor selection, long-lead planning and acceptance — against a facility or program schedule.
- ✓A quantified improvement delivered through tooling or automation — cycle time, ergonomic risk, defect rate or touch labor — that you can explain mechanically.
- ✓Ability to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance
- ✓Willingness to travel up to 25%
Preferred qualifications
- ✓10+ years designing production tooling, fixtures or mechanical ground support equipment for aerospace, space, defense or another high-reliability industry.
- ✓Experience building or transforming successful production operation organizations and leading large-scale change management initiatives that influence culture, define tools & processes and improve competencies.
- ✓Cleanroom manufacturing experience, or equivalent work in another contamination-controlled environment, with contamination control and FOD prevention discipline.
- ✓Hands-on fluency with a manufacturing execution system and a PLM system as the system of record — build definition, work instruction or work order authoring, as-built records and production data. Teamcenter, SAP, Windchill or equivalent.
- ✓Demonstrated success in scaling product testing and production from single units to hundreds per year.
- ✓Experience leading and managing teams on fast-paced, complex projects.
- ✓Skills in cost analysis, cost reduction strategies, and managing production budgets
- ✓Hands-on experience with software & firmware flashing or end-of-line testing & troubleshooting
- ✓Software scripting experience in any language.
- ✓Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Top Secret security clearance
$147,000 — $196,000 USD
Benefits
At Anduril, we invest in our people. Our comprehen
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.
What you’ll do
- •Degree in a technical field such as engineering, math, or a hard science.
- •8+ years in manufacturing or similar prototyping position.
- •4+ years as a SME in either Sensors and Avionics, Vehicle Integration, or Propulsion and Energetics
- •Demonstrated in-kind or direct team leadership skills, with backing examples.
- •An attitude of world-class mission assurance, quality, attention to detail, and dedication.
- •A genuine interest in manufacturing and thirst for learning.
- •Demonstrated ability to creatively deliver hardware in a resource-constrained environment.
- •Personal experience physically manufacturing hardware via any means (machining, fabrication, soldering, assembly, etc.). Work on personal or extracurricular projects is a plus.
- •Must be a U.S. Person due to required access to U.S. export-controlled information or facilities
