Senior Project Manager, Manufacturing Development, Space

Anduril Anduril · Defense · Costa Mesa, CA · Manufacturing : Manufacturing Engineering : Manufacturing Engineering

This role is for a Senior Project Manager in Manufacturing Development for the Space Business Line at Anduril, a defense technology company. The focus is on implementing and managing the Manufacturing Development Process (MDP) to ensure production readiness for complex space vehicles. The role involves stakeholder management, schedule creation, risk tracking, and guiding teams through build cycles from prototype to production. While the company utilizes AI and related technologies in its products, this specific role is centered on manufacturing process development and project management, not direct AI/ML development.

What you'd actually do

  1. Introduce the MDP framework to a diverse set of stakeholders within the Space Business Line, including Design Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Manufacturing Operations, Technical Program Management, and Production Program Management.
  2. Lead Manufacturing Engineering teams through MDP rollout and implementation for a highly complex space vehicle.
  3. Communicate the importance of MDP and how it contributes to production success to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
  4. Track manufacturing readiness and associated risk over time.
  5. Facilitate phase gate evaluations alongside Manufacturing Engineering teams.

Skills

Required

  • 3+ years of experience in manufacturing engineering, manufacturing operations, design engineering, consulting, change management, project management, program management, or engineering transformation.
  • 8+ years of experience overall in relevant domains.
  • Background in spacecraft manufacturing or space vehicle integration.
  • Understanding of the product lifecycle (design/development/production), as well as the purpose of each phase and its associated importance for manufacturing readiness.
  • Strong business acumen together with knowledge of design engineering and manufacturing domains.
  • Ability to collaborate and influence across all levels and disciplines (individual contributor to senior leadership, Program Management to Supply Chain to Design Engineering, etc.).
  • Proven ability to execute operationally while also being able to step back and think strategically.
  • Process thinker with a business impact mindset.
  • A desire to learn new things without fear of jumping in.
  • Must be a U.S. Person due to required access to U.S. export controlled information or facilities

Nice to have

  • Experience with defining facility requirements, buildout, development, etc.
  • Experience leading organizational change.
  • Experience successfully taking new products and/or production systems from development to full-scale production.
  • Deep knowledge of co-design/concurrent engineering, as well as manufacturing phases of the product lifecycle.

What the JD emphasized

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