Head of Manufacturing Automation

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 JOB:

Anduril’s Manufacturing team is seeking a Head of Production Automation to join our team.

Your role encompasses the strategic oversight and tactical management of production automation and controls to support high-volume products  are charged with creating the infrastructure for automation to support key programs as we scale rapidly. This position demands an innovative approach to enhancing our automation, advancing scalability, and lowering the barrier to entry into our company systems.

WHAT YOU’LL DO:

• Direct the production automation team, set objectives, guide initiatives, and assess team outcomes.

• Architect and oversee the automation and controls strategy to ensure scalable operations at Arsenal, transitioning from pre-production to full-scale output.

• Provide long-term factory integration strategy and recommendations as well as hands-on contribution to factory automation and integration efforts.

• Communicate strategic visions to key stakeholders, integrating production automation and controls initiatives under a unified digital framework

• Enable real-time data flow and actionable insights through effective connectivity of factory systems

• Collaborate and partner with cross functional teams across production (manufacturing, testing, tooling, etc.) to ensure cohesion between all factory systems and to seamlessly deploy process improvements.

• Champion initiatives that enhance safety, reduce costs, improve quality, and increase productivity.

• Administer production automation budgets and predict resource requirements for personnel, equipment, and materials.

• Implement comprehensive training and documentation to elevate team expertise and support knowledge transfer.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field

• Minimum of 7 years of relevant industry experience leading production automation

• Experience with high volume production automation and controls systems

• Experience implementing factory system automation within ERP/MES platforms

• Hands-on expertise in IoT, industrial robotics, ERP/MES, or SCADA systems

• Familiarity with AI, machine learning, or big data applications in manufacturing

• Ability to code and debug in programming or scripting languages for automation (e.g., Python, JavaScript, or PLC programming)

• Knowledge of ERP systems (e.g., SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics) and their workflows

• Strong understanding of factory automation equipment, network protocols, and communication standards (e.g., OPC UA, MQTT)

• Strong collaboration and communication skills across technical and non-technical stakeholders

• Must be a U.S. Person due to required access to U.S. export controlled information or facilities

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Experience working with third party integrators for automation

• Experience building and training a team from the ground up

• Experience architecting native ERP systems and their requirements using Foundry or other applicable software packages

• Experience with building, verifying, or validating complex systems and their associated reporting and data collection requirements

• Upstream or Downstream experience relative to Manufacturing – Supply Chain, Finance, Business Development, Field Deployment, Design, etc.
US Salary Range $190,000—$285,000 USD
The salary range for this role is an estimate based on a wide range of compensation factors, inclusive of base salary only.…