Senior Manager, Manufacturing Engineering — Autonomous Airpower

ABOUT THE TEAM

The 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 JOB

Anduril 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 DO

• Lead manufacturing engineering strategy and execution across the full Autonomous Airpower portfolio, spanning multiple aircraft programs in various stages of maturity
• Serve 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 feasibility
• Partner 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 production
• Build, develop, and lead a high-performing team of manufacturing engineers across disciplines — structures, mechanical systems, fluid systems, propulsion, avionics, and harnessing
• Drive cross-functional alignment between engineering, supply chain, manufacturing operations, program management, quality, and leadership to ensure production readiness across programs
• Own the ME cost and schedule position for your portfolio — developing estimates, tracking execution, identifying risks, and presenting status to directors and executives
• Represent manufacturing engineering in executive reviews, program gate reviews, and customer-facing discussions, translating production realities into clear, actionable information for senior leadership
• Establish manufacturing engineering standards, processes, and best practices that scale across programs and production sites
• Evaluate and advise on make-vs-buy decisions, capital investments, and production strategies based on deep knowledge of aircraft manufacturing capabilities and constraints
• Drive production readiness across the portfolio — MBOMs, process maturity, tooling readiness, rate-readiness assessments — ensuring programs are set up to succeed at each production milestone

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Aerospace, Manufacturing, Electrical, or Industrial Engineering
• 12+ years of manufacturing engineering experience in aerospace or defense, with significant time spent on aircraft programs
• Deep, hands-on knowledge of aircraft manufacturing across multiple disciplines — structures/composites, mechanical systems, fluid systems, avionics, harnessing, or propulsion
• Experience across the full aircraft production lifecycle: DFM, design reviews, prototype/first-article builds, LRIP, and full-rate production
• 5+ years of experience leading and developing manufacturing engineering teams
• Demonstrated ability to assess emerging programs and provide credible manufacturing cost, schedule, and feasibility inputs
• Experience presenting manufacturing status, risks, and recommendations to director-level and executive audiences
• Strong cross-functional leadership — proven ability to drive alignment across engineering, operations, supply chain, program management, and business leadership
• Experience managing manufacturing engineering budgets and cost positions across multiple programs
• Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience standing up new aircraft production lines from scratch — from facility planning through rate production
• Experience working directly with growth or business development teams to shape proposals and production strategies for new aircraft programs
• Experience with autonomous aircraft, UAV, or advanced air vehicle programs
• Knowledge of EVMS, earned value reporting, and program control fundamentals
• Experience with Manufacturing Readiness Levels (MRL) and Manufacturing Readiness Assessments (MRA)
• Experience working with Teamcenter, SAP, Oracle, or similar PLM/ERP platforms
• Master's degree in Engineering, Business, or related field
• Active U.S. Secret security clearance