Manufacturing Engineer II, Autonomous Airpower at Anduril Industries – Costa Mesa | Jobyssey

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

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 Manufacturing Engineer II to join the Autonomous Airpower manufacturing team in Costa Mesa, California. You will own portions of the manufacturing value chain for autonomous aircraft hardware — implementing and refining manufacturing processes to hit production targets and quality standards. This role spans the full breadth of manufacturing engineering disciplines and may focus on one or more of the following areas depending on your background: structures and composites, mechanical systems (landing gear, doors, actuators), fluid systems (hydraulic, fuel, pneumatic), propulsion integration, avionics, or harnessing and electrical integration.

At this level, you are expected to execute manufacturing engineering projects with moderate supervision, manage your own timelines and priorities, and begin mentoring junior engineers and technicians. You bring solid manufacturing fundamentals, hands-on experience on a production floor, and the ability to analyze workflows, identify bottlenecks, and drive targeted improvements. You are comfortable designing tooling and fixtures, troubleshooting production issues in real time, and translating technical constraints into actionable information for cross-functional partners.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

Own the manufacturing value chain for assigned aircraft subsystems or assemblies — from process development through work instruction authoring, tooling definition, and production support
Implement and refine manufacturing processes to achieve production targets and quality standards for your subsystems
Analyze current workflows to identify bottlenecks and drive targeted cycle time reductions
Author and maintain work instructions, quality plans, inspection requirements, and manufacturing BOMs that enable technicians to build hardware consistently
Proficiently utilize CAD software to design tooling, fixtures, and production layouts for aircraft assemblies
Provide DFM/DFA feedback to design engineering, communicating manufacturing constraints and suggesting alternatives based on hands-on production experience
Execute assigned manufacturing engineering projects — managing timelines, coordinating with vendors and internal teams, and tracking progress to engineering leadership
Troubleshoot production issues in real time, developing practical solutions to minimize downtime on the factory floor
Apply Lean and Six Sigma tools (5S, value stream mapping, FMEA) to specific production areas and lead smaller improvement initiatives
Mentor junior engineers and technicians, providing guidance on routine assignments and manufacturing best practices

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

4+ years of manufacturing engineering experience in aerospace, defense, or complex hardware production environments
Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Aerospace, Manufacturing, Electrical, or Industrial Engineering or equivalent hands-on manufacturing experience
Demonstrated experience implementing and refining manufacturing processes on a production floor
Experience authoring work instructions, manufacturing plans, and quality documentation for hardware builds
Proficiency with CAD tools (CATIA, SolidWorks, NX, or equivalent) for tooling and fixture design
Experience managing manufacturing engineering projects including timelines, vendor coordination, and resource allocation
Hands-on troubleshooting experience in a production environment
Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

Experience in one or more of the following: composite structures, mechanical systems (landing gear, flight controls, doors), fluid systems (hydraulic, fuel, pneumatic), propulsion, avionics integration, or wire harness manufacturing
Experience transitioning hardware from prototype or first-article builds to rate production
Experience with aircraft or autonomous vehicle assembly
Knowledge of AS9100, aerospace quality systems, and non-conformance management processes
Experience applying Lean, Six Sigma, or structured continuous improvement methodologies
Experience working with Teamcenter, SAP, Oracle, or similar PLM/ERP platforms
Active U.S. Secret security clearance

Per Anduril's expansion plans, we anticipate this job will be based out of Long Beach, CA beginning late 2027.

US Salary Range

$129,000—$171,000 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.
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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 [email protected]. Your proactive caution is invaluable in protecting your personal information and upholding the security and trustworthiness of our recruitment efforts.

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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.

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