Senior Manager, Manufacturing Engineering, Space

ABOUT THE JOB

WHAT YOU’LL DO:

Strategic and Technical Leadership:

• Recruit, mentor, develop, and lead a high-performing team of manufacturing engineers and integration & test engineers and foster a culture of innovation, excellence, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Serve as the primary manufacturing engineering lead for several assigned space programs, ensuring technical alignment and execution.
• Oversee the development, implementation, and optimization of manufacturing processes for complex, high-precision space-qualified hardware, including structures, propulsion, avionics, thermal systems, and optical components.
• Drive the vision and strategy for growing Anduril's space program, identifying new opportunities and areas for innovation.

New Product Introduction: 

• Ensure robust Design for Manufacturability (DFM) and Design for Assembly (DFA) principles are integrated throughout the product lifecycle, influencing design decisions from early concept phases.
• Lead Manufacturing Readiness Reviews (MRR) and production readiness assessments.
• Lead Test Readiness Reviews (TRR) and test campaign readiness assessments.
• Oversee the design, development, documentation, and optimization of manufacturing processes for highly complex, space components, sub-systems, and integrated systems.
• Establish and enforce rigorous quality control standards and inspection methods, ensuring all hardware meets stringent space-grade requirements and a zero-defect mentality.
• Provide technical guidance on manufacturing facility layout, equipment selection, and tooling design for both pilot builds and production environments, including cleanroom operations.

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

• Serve as the primary manufacturing engineering interface with Design Engineering, Supply Chain, Program Management, Test, and Operations.
• Collaborate with Supply Chain to assess supplier manufacturing capabilities, quality, and readiness for critical components.
• Support proposals, technical reviews, and customer briefings, representing manufacturing engineering capabilities and strategy.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Degree in a technical field preferred such as engineering, math, or a hard science.
• At least 8+ years of experience in a relevant field, preferably space and satellite manufacturing, systems engineering, or design of electromechanical hardware.
• Demonstrated ability to creatively deliver electromechanical hardware in a resource-constrained environment.
• Experience in unit-level/space vehicle/system integration, assembly, and environmental testing (eg., vibration, thermal vacuum, acoustic, shock, and EMI/EMC)
• Background in integration and testing of avionics/optical payloads, solar, propulsion, ADCS, or other space hardware.
• Proven team leadership skills, with examples of successfully managing and developing a diverse team.
• Personal experience physically manufacturing hardware through various methods (machining, fabrication, soldering, assembly, etc.). Work on personal or extracurricular projects is a plus.
• Possess the ability to understand new concepts quickly; apply them accurately; organize, schedule, and coordinate work phases; and, determine the appropriate approach at the task level or, with assistance, at the project level to provide solutions to a range of complex problems.
• Familiarity with CAD software, Manufacturing Execution systems, and ERP/MRP systems.
• A genuine interest in manufacturing and a thirst for learning, particularly in the space domain.
• Willingness to travel frequently (>25%) to support global manufacturing operations
• Demonstrated success in scaling product testing and production from one to tens/hundreds.
• Active security clearance or ability to obtain a security clearance.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience in test hardware and software development
• Software scripting experience in python
• Experience writing test plans, procedures, and work instruction documentation.
• Ability to work effectively in space manufacturing environments.
• Demonstrated skill at driving and questioning design and customer requirements.