Senior Manufacturing Engineer, Thermal Protection Systems, -Speed Missiles

Senior Manufacturing Engineer, Thermal Protection Systems, High-Speed Missiles

Costa Mesa, California, United States

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.

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. To survive these extreme environments, our vehicles must withstand intense thermal, aerodynamic, and structural forces.

Historically, hypersonic systems have been built like low-volume, bespoke science projects. At Anduril, we are changing that. Your mission is to bridge the gap between cutting-edge physics and high-rate industrial output. You will be the bridge between design and production, transforming highly complex, next-generation hypersonic vehicles into manufacturable, repeatable, and scalable products. This is a high-impact, high-ownership role. You will not just be maintaining a pre-existing assembly line;

you will be architecting the future of hypersonic production from the ground up.

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.
• Author Technical Standards:
  Create and maintain work instructions, manufacturing bills of materials (MBOMs), routing, and quality documentation.

Required Qualifications

• 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.
• Manufacturing Process Development:
  Experience developing, scaling, and documenting manufacturing processes for TPS components (e.g., layup, curing, pyrolysis, densification, machining, or bonding/integration).
• Travel:
  Willingness to travel periodically (