Senior Manufacturing Engineer, Thermal Protection Systems, High-Speed MissilesActive$194K

Anduril Industries
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Costa Mesa, California, United StatesManufacturing

The opportunity

As a Manufacturing Engineer supporting Thermal Protection Systems on the High-Speed Missiles team , you will be at the absolute bleeding edge of aerospace and defense technology. Hypersonic flight—sustained travel at speeds of Mach 5 and beyond—represents one of the most demanding engineering challenges of our time.

What you'll do

  • Own the Production Line: Design, commission, and continuously optimize the assembly lines, work cells, and floor layouts for our hypersonic missile programs.

  • Bridge Design and Manufacturing: Collaborate intimately with design engineers during the early development phases to drive Design for Manufacturing (DFM) and Design for Assembly (DFA), ensuring the vehicle is optimized for high-rate production.

  • Pioneer Advanced Processes: Develop and scale manufacturing processes for exotic materials, advanced composite structures, thermal protection systems (TPS), and high-performance propulsion integration (such as rocket motors and air-breathing engines).

  • Design Tooling & Equipment: Architect, procure, and qualify custom assembly tooling, fixtures, and automated assembly equipment to increase throughput and quality.

  • Drive From Prototype to Rate: Lead the transition of hardware from first-article prototyping through Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) and into mature, high-rate manufacturing.

  • Solve Complex Shop-Floor Challenges: Act as the first line of defense for the manufacturing floor, rapidly troubleshooting and resolving complex engineering and production anomalies.

What they're looking for

  • Author Technical Standards: Create and maintain work instructions, manufacturing bills of materials (MBOMs), routing, and quality documentation.
  • Educational Background: B.S. or M.S. in Mechanical, Aerospace, Manufacturing, Industrial Engineering, or a related STEM discipline.
  • TPS Materials Expertise: Hands-on experience working with High-Temperature Materials (e.g., Carbon-Carbon, Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMCs), ablatives, or high-temperature insulation/tiles).
  • Material Qualification: Direct experience leading or supporting the qualification of aerospace-grade materials, including defining test plans (thermal, mechanical, and environmental testing) and executing to aerospace/defense standards.