Head of Production, Maritime
Anduril Industries· Defense· Sep 24, 2026 · 1mo ago
Santa Ana, California, United States
In office
Full-time
Head
$192K–$265K est.
10+ years exp
Job description
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 TEAM
Anduril’s Maritime Manufacturing Technology Team is responsible for rapidly developing and implementing manufacturing technologies, processes, and materials for cutting-edge defense hardware. The team is developing deployable static and moving surface, undersea and sea to air vehicles, and scaling these products in our new manufacturing facilities.
ABOUT THE JOB
We are seeking a Head of Production to join our team in Santa Ana, CA to stand up a cutting-edge manufacturing site. This role is crucial in ensuring that each initiative aligns with the company's strategic direction and receives the appropriate resourcing, balancing innovation with practical execution to drive the business line's success. You will build and lead the product line organization from scratch, establishing and managing manufacturing processes, quality systems, and the infrastructure needed to scale from prototype builds through full-rate production.
As a leader in the Maritime Division, you must bear the expertise to evaluate, qualify, manage, and advocate for an increasing number of sophisticated parallel pursuits. Your spectrum of support will be exceptionally diverse and require you to rapidly drive aggressive deliverables to completion.
The ideal candidate will leverage a deep expertise in large-scale manufacturing of a number of large, complex assemblies. You need to have experience in heavy fabrication, be able to lead the complex integration of different structures, and have a background spanning structural fabrication, joining and assembly across a variety of metals, alloys, and exotic materials. You need to have led an organization of hundreds, not dozens, and come from an operation comparable to the scale we are building at Anduril. You are a builder, not a caretaker.
WHAT YOU’LL DO
Own all production activity: manufacturing and production support.
Build and lead the production organization, supporting hiring across manufacturing engineering, quality, and operations.
Establish manufacturing processes and production infrastructure for complex electromechanical vehicles.
Drive NPI and the manufacturing development lifecycle: Concept, Prototype, LRIP, FRP.
Manage production budgets, schedules, and on-time delivery performance.
Own production readiness reviews and design from the production system including production engineering.
Coordinate with supply chain including demand planning, procurement, and warehouse operations.
Implement and optimize production systems (ERP, MES, QMS).
Drive continuous improvement using Lean, Six Sigma, or equivalent methodologies.
Ensure compliance with AS9100, NAVSEA, and customer quality requirements.
Interface with engineering, program management, and customer organizations.
Travel over 75% to manufacturing facilities and customer sites.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Industrial Engineering, or equivalent.
Minimum 10+ years of experience in manufacturing or production for complex electromechanical systems.
Minimum 5+ years of experience building and leading production teams and organizations.
Experience managing production budgets in the $10M+ range.
Demonstrated experience scaling production from NPI through full-rate production.
Deep expertise with production systems (ERP, MES, QMS).
Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
Direct experience in maritime, naval, or aerospace defense, with knowledge of NAVSEA or MIL-SPEC standards.
Technical foundation in mechanical assembly, electrical integration, heavy metal or composite fabrication, or shipbuilding or large vehicle production.
Hands-on technical credibility having personally built, debugged, or repaired hardware in a production environment, and is comfortable being on the floor with technicians as the default operating mode.
Experience with MES and ERP systems for production and material planning: working with JIRA, Siemens NX, Teamcenter (PLM), or Oracle or equivalents.
Experience with Lean manufacturing and Six Sigma methodologies.
US Salary Range $220,000 — $292,000 USD 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:
Benefits
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. For more information, Explore Our Benefits .
Protecting Yourself from Recruitment Scams
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.
To ensure your safety and help you navigate your job search with confidence, please keep the following critical points in mind:
No Financial Requests: 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.
Please always verify communications:
Direct from Anduril: If you receive an email from one of our recruiters, it will only come from an @anduril.com address.
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 contact@anduril.com .
Exercise Caution with Unsolicited Outreach: 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.
What to Do If You Suspect Fraud: Should you encounter any questionable or fraudulent outreach claiming to be from Anduril, please report it immediately to contact@anduril.com . Your proactive caution is invaluable in protecting your personal information and upholding the security and trustworthiness of our recruitment efforts.
Data Privacy
To view Anduril's candidate data privacy policy, please visit anduril.com .
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.
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