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Senior Technical Program Manager, Production Engineering

Costa Mesa, California, United States
Full Time On-site

Summary

Job Description

<div class="content-intro"><p>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.</p></div><p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>ABOUT THE TEAM</h3> <p>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 a first-of-kind autonomous aircraft. Every design decision becomes a production outcome, and this role owns that connection.</p> <h3>ABOUT THE JOB</h3> <p>Your job is to make the handoff from design to production predictable, fast, and right the first time.<br><br>Success in this position hinges on three key facets:</p> <ul> <li><strong>NPI and change management discipline</strong> - you drive NPI and sustaining engineering changes through the system with clear release criteria, honest impact assessments, and hard gates when something is not ready. You work with the change management team to trace every engineering decision to its production outcome.</li> <li><strong>Technical depth to challenge engineering</strong> - you understand producibility well enough to see a problem before it hits the floor. When first-pass yield drops because of a design choice, you either prevented it or are already driving the fix.</li> <li><strong>Speed across organizational boundaries</strong> - you drive decisions between engineering and production faster than the cadence allows. Both teams trust you because you are rigorous, prepared, and right. You do not wait for alignment to happen organically.</li> </ul> <h3>WHAT YOU'LL DO</h3> <ul> <li>Own the schedule and cost performance of engineering-to-production transition for NPI and sustaining changes</li> <li>Drive engineering release readiness with clear criteria, blocking releases that are not production-ready</li> <li>Work with the change management team to assess ECO/ECN impact on production schedule, cost, and rework</li> <li>Track and drive resolution of engineering changes with downstream production impact, owning rework and retrofit rate accountability</li> <li>Drive DFM reviews and ensure producibility is addressed before designs lock, not after</li> <li>Build the systems that make engineering-to-production handoff measurable: first-pass yield, change-driven rework costs, and schedule impact of engineering decisions</li> <li>Leverage quantitative models (trade studies, sensitivity analysis on tolerances and process capability) to inform design-for-production decisions</li> <li>Prepare technical documentation, analysis reports, and briefings for internal teams, customers, and government stakeholders</li> <li>Maintain reproducible analysis pipelines using version control, scripting, and scalable workflows</li> </ul> <h3>REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS</h3> <ul> <li>5+ years in technical program management, NPI, or design-to-production roles in complex hardware environments</li> <li>Demonstrated experience blocking or redirecting engineering releases based on production readiness assessment</li> <li>Technical depth in hardware design and manufacturing processes sufficient to challenge engineering on producibility</li> <li>Experience managing engineering change processes (ECO/ECN) and tracing change impact to cost and schedule</li> <li>Comfortable building or interpreting quantitative models to inform design and production trade decisions</li> <li>Familiar with version control, scripting, scalable workflows, and reproducible analysis practices</li> <li>Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance</li> </ul> <h3>PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS</h3> <ul> <li>Experience in aerospace, defense, or autonomous systems NPI and production transition</li> <li>Proficiency with data tools such as Palantir Foundry, PLM systems, or custom analytics stacks</li> <li>Background in trade studies, tolerance analysis, or process capability modeling applied to DFM decisions</li> <li>Experience scaling NPI processes from prototype to rate production</li> <li>Familiarity with complex electromechanical, avionics, or composite manufacturing processes</li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;</p><div class="content-pay-transparency"><div class="pay-input"><div class="title">US Salary Range</div><div class="pay-range"><span>$160,000</span><span class="divider">&mdash;</span><span>$220,000 USD</span></div></div></div><div class="content-conclusion"><p><span data-contrast="auto">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:</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335551550&quot;:0,&quot;335551620&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}">&nbsp;</span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3 class="detailElios"><strong>Benefits</strong></h3> <p><span data-contrast="auto">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.&nbsp;</span><em><span data-contrast="auto">For more information, <a href="https://www.anduril.com/careers">Explore Our Benefits</a>.</span></em></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="RichText column1"> <h3 class="detailElios"><strong>Protecting Yourself from Recruitment Scams</strong></h3> <p class="detailElios">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.</p> </div> <div class="RichText column2"> <p class="detailElios">To ensure your safety and help you navigate your job search with confidence, please keep the following critical points in mind:</p> <ul> <li> <p class="detailElios"><strong>No Financial Requests:&nbsp;</strong>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.</p> </li> <li><strong>Please always verify communications:</strong> <ul> <li>Direct from Anduril: If you receive an email from one of our recruiters, it will <em>only</em> come from an <code>@anduril.com</code> address.</li> <li>Via Agency Partner: If contacted by a recruiting agency for an Anduril role, their email will clearly identify their agency. If you suspect any suspicious activity, please verify the agency's authenticity by reaching out to <a href="mailto:contact@anduril.com">contact@anduril.com</a>.&nbsp;</li> </ul> </li> <li> <p class="detailElios"><strong>Exercise Caution with Unsolicited Outreach:</strong>&nbsp;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.</p> </li> <li> <p class="detailElios"><strong>What to Do If You Suspect Fraud:</strong>&nbsp;Should you encounter any questionable or fraudulent outreach claiming to be from Anduril, please report it immediately to&nbsp;<a href="mailto:contact@anduril.com">contact@anduril.com</a>. Your proactive caution is invaluable in protecting your personal information and upholding the security and trustworthiness of our recruitment efforts.</p> </li> </ul> </div> <h3>&nbsp;</h3> <h3><strong>Data Privacy</strong></h3> <p><span data-contrast="auto">To view Anduril's candidate data privacy policy, please visit </span><span data-contrast="none"><span data-ccp-charstyle="Hyperlink"><a href="https://anduril.com/applicant-privacy-notice/">https://anduril.com/applicant-privacy-notice/</a></span></span><span data-contrast="auto">.</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335551550&quot;:0,&quot;335551620&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}">&nbsp;</span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335551550&quot;:0,&quot;335551620&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}">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.</span></p></div>

About Anduril

Anduril

Anduril Industries is one of the fastest-growing defense technology companies in the United States, building advanced autonomous systems, AI-powered software, drones, and surveillance technologies for the U.S. military and allied partners. Founded in 2017, the company is helping modernize national defense through cutting-edge systems designed for land, sea, air, and space operations. Its core platform, Lattice OS, connects sensors, autonomous systems, and battlefield data to improve real-time decision-making for military operators.

For job seekers, Anduril offers the opportunity to work on some of the most advanced technologies in defense, including autonomous aircraft, counter-drone systems, robotics, AI, computer vision, and next-generation military platforms. The company hires across software engineering, hardware engineering, manufacturing, program management, operations, cybersecurity, and national security roles—making it especially attractive to veterans, cleared professionals, and engineers who want to build technology with real mission impact.

Unlike traditional defense contractors, Anduril operates with a fast-moving, startup-style culture focused on rapid innovation and deploying capabilities in months instead of years. Employees often describe the environment as mission-driven, highly technical, and engineering-focused, attracting professionals who want to solve difficult national security challenges while working with modern software and hardware development approaches.

As defense spending increasingly prioritizes autonomy, AI, drones, and advanced sensing systems, Anduril continues to expand rapidly and invest heavily in growth. With major government programs, rising demand for autonomous defense technologies, and significant investment backing, Anduril has become one of the most closely watched employers in the defense technology sector for professionals seeking a high-growth career with meaningful national security impact.

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