We are seeking an experienced Manufacturing Safety Engineering leader to join our rapidly growing team in Costa Mesa, CA to stand up and scale manufacturing safety as an engineering discipline across Anduril. This is a build role: you will create the manufacturing-safety-engineering team, define the risk-assessment framework and processes that keep our production equipment, fixtures, test stations, and work instructions safe, and drive adoption of those practices across Anduril's manufacturing sites. As a Manufacturing Safety leader, you will apply deep expertise in machine safety, formal risk assessment, and the hierarchy of controls to engineer hazards out of how our products are built, partnering closely with EHS, manufacturing and controls engineering, and production leadership. The ideal candidate is a hands-on technical leader who can set strategy and standards while remaining the senior authority on the hardest hazard problems on the floor.
This role is based in Costa Mesa, CA, and supports Anduril's manufacturing operations, including sites at Quonset Point, RI and Atlanta, GA; travel to production sites is expected.
WHAT YOU'LL DO- Build, lead, and develop the Manufacturing Safety Engineering team, including hiring, leveling, mentoring, and performance management, as the discipline scales across Anduril.
- Establish and standardize the manufacturing-safety framework: risk-assessment methodology, templates, risk-acceptance criteria, safety sign-off gates, and the management-of-change process, aligned to the business.
- Grow the manufacturing-safety discipline across Anduril, driving adoption across production lines and sites and defining the standards of record, in partnership with Manufacturing, EHS, and product engineering.
- Define and communicate the discipline's vision, goals, roadmap, and operating model, and integrate manufacturing-safety practices across all stages of production development.
- Own manufacturing-safety metrics, KPIs, and executive-level reporting; represent the discipline to leadership and to customer and defense-program stakeholders.
- Manage resource allocation and capacity planning across concurrent programs and sites, and manage budget, tooling, and external partnerships (EHS, controls integrators, certification bodies).
- Serve as the senior technical authority and final risk-acceptance escalation point for the highest-consequence manufacturing hazards.
- Lead formal machine and task-based risk assessments on production equipment, fixtures, tooling, and processes, documenting hazards, risk ratings, required controls, and residual risk.
- Review manufacturing work instructions and supporting training material for safety adequacy; author Job Hazard Analyses (JHA) and embed the required controls, PPE, and safe-work steps.
- Engineer and review production equipment such as lift fixtures and material-handling aids in partnership with EHS, and support proof-load testing.
- Assess and design safety into production test equipment.
- Apply the hierarchy of controls and prevention-through-design principles to eliminate or reduce hazards at the equipment and line-design stage.
- Define functional-safety requirements for safety-related control systems and verify their implementation.
- Partner with EHS to ensure engineering controls satisfy applicable OSHA 29 CFR 1910 general-industry requirements (machine guarding, lockout/tagout, electrical, PPE, materials handling).
- Support incident and near-miss investigations and root-cause analysis; drive corrective engineering actions and management of change.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS- B.S. Degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Manufacturing, Industrial, or Safety Engineering, or equivalent technical discipline
- 10+ years of experience in manufacturing/machine safety, equipment/controls engineering, or a related discipline, with at least 3 years in a leadership role
- Proven track record building, scaling, and managing technical teams and establishing engineering processes or disciplines
- Deep expertise in formal machine and task-based risk assessment and machine safeguarding, applied across equipment, fixtures, and processes
- Strong working knowledge of applicable OSHA 29 CFR 1910 general-industry requirements (machine guarding, lockout/tagout, electrical, PPE, materials handling) as engineering controls
- Experience partnering with EHS, manufacturing, and design organizations to embed safety into equipment and production processes
- Strategic thinking with the ability to balance hands-on technical authority with organizational leadership responsibilities
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to influence cross-functionally at all levels
- Eligibility to pursue and maintain a U.S. security clearance, as required
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS- Familiarity with machine safety standards such as ISO 12100 (risk assessment and risk reduction), ISO 13849 (safety-related parts of control systems), and ANSI B11 (machine safety and safeguarding)
- M.S. Degree in an engineering discipline
- Professional safety or machinery-safety certification (CSP, CMSE)
- 12+ years of experience with at least 5 years in a leadership role, including standing up a safety-engineering function or discipline from an early stage
- Experience managing teams and programs across multiple manufacturing sites, and through periods of rapid growth (2x+ expansion)
- Track record of developing talent and promoting team members into senior and leadership roles
- Experience in high-rate or rapidly scaling aerospace, defense, or automotive manufacturing
- Executive-level communications, reporting, and roadmap presentation experience
- Active U.S. security clearance
US Salary Range
$166,000-$220,000 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:
BenefitsAt 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.
