Director of Manufacturing Engineering, EW

Anduril • Irvine, CA

9d

About The Position

Anduril's Electromagnetic Warfare (EW) Manufacturing team builds and iterates defense hardware across the manufacturing value chain, from Design for Manufacturability through full-rate production. The Director of Manufacturing Engineering for EW provides strategic oversight and tactical management of manufacturing engineering for new product development and high-volume production. The role ensures rigorous processes and consistent delivery of quality defense hardware, fulfills manufacturing capacity commitments, and advances tools, automation, and methodologies for design, analysis, and execution. It calls for an adaptable leader to solve complex manufacturing challenges for electromechanical defense systems in a fast-paced, resource-constrained environment.

The Director leads and develops the manufacturing engineering team, sets manufacturing strategy, and partners with Design Engineering on product introduction and production scaling. The role owns the EW manufacturing value chain, including tooling, vendor relationships, quality planning, and work documentation, and contributes to end-customer hardware mechanical or electrical design. It also manages budgets, staffing, and capital equipment planning; supports scaling, including in classified production environments; and establishes cross-functional workflows among Design Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality, and Production.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 10+ years of progressive experience in manufacturing engineering and operations.
• At least 5 years of leadership experience managing manufacturing engineering teams.
• Demonstrated experience owning manufacturing value chains for complex electromechanical hardware.
• Strong background in make-versus-buy analysis, contract manufacturer management, and supplier development for precision hardware.
• Experience managing new product introduction (NPI) and scaling production in high-growth environments with condensed timelines.
• Ability to deliver electromechanical hardware creatively in a resource-constrained environment.
• Experience bringing up assembly operations for electromechanical assemblies, including PCBA, harness, and RF hardware.
• Knowledge of automation, advanced manufacturing technologies, and digital manufacturing tools.
• Proficiency with ERP, CAD, PLM, and FRACAS software.
• Familiarity with quality systems such as ISO 9001/AS9100 and with MES systems.
• Hands-on experience physically manufacturing hardware, such as assembly, soldering, machining, or fabrication.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance.

Nice To Haves

• Master's degree or MBA.
• Experience with complex electromechanical hardware in defense, aerospace, or adjacent industries.

Responsibilities

• Recruit, mentor, and develop a high-performing manufacturing engineering team with expertise in mechanical and electrical products, system integration, and environmental testing.
• Foster innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement across the organization.
• Develop and implement a long-term manufacturing engineering strategy aligned with EW growth objectives.
• Drive adoption of automation, advanced manufacturing technologies, and digital manufacturing tools to improve efficiency and scalability.
• Partner with Design Engineering through product development to transition new products from design to production.
• Champion Design for Manufacturability (DfM), Design for Assembly (DfA), and broader DFx principles to reduce production-scaling risk.
• Evaluate, plan, and prioritize supply chain, production, and test optimizations to meet production output goals.
• Develop process flows that divide complex electromechanical assemblies into logical subassemblies and subprocesses.
• Build business cases for vertical integration or supplier diversification when these will accelerate scalability.
• Lead initiatives to improve yield, reduce cycle time, and lower cost across the manufacturing value chain.
• Drive operational excellence through Kaizen events, root cause and corrective action (RCCA) burndowns, component and supplier rationalization, and process standardization.
• Partner with Product Quality Engineering to address internal and external production issues.
• Own the EW product manufacturing value chain, including tool design and selection, vendor sourcing and interaction, quality planning, and work documentation.
• Contribute to end-customer hardware mechanical or electrical design, including interconnects, board fabrication, and inspection.
• Manage budgets, staffing, and capital equipment planning for the manufacturing engineering organization.
• Forecast headcount and operational needs to support rapid scaling, including classified production environments.
• Establish collaboration frameworks across Design Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality, and Production; set objectives, build cross-functional teams, and drive project execution.

Benefits

• Highly competitive equity grants are included in the majority of full-time offers and are considered part of total compensation.
• Top-tier benefits for full-time employees, described as comprehensive and competitive and available at little to no cost to employees.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director