Head of Production, Missiles

As the Head of Production, Missiles you will own the strategic development and execution for short to mid-term production goals, operational direction, and the vision for the department. Your top-level charter will be to define and drive the future success of our Missile production portfolio, ensuring consistent, flawless execution across all engineering, growth and production.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

• Strategic & Operational Leadership: Serve as both a strategic leader and a hands-on operator, overseeing all aspects of Barracuda production.

• Hyper-Growth & Scale: Drive the Production, Supply Chain, and Quality teams to execute against Anduril’s ambitious 5-year strategic vision to become a next-generation aerospace and defense manufacturer, capable of flexibly producing thousands of high-quality products annually on condensed timelines.

• Lead the planning, execution, and delivery of New Product Introduction projects from concept to full production release

• Cross-Functional Partnership: Collaborate closely with Engineering, Growth, Deployment Operations, and Program Management to ensure seamless product maturation from low-rate prototypes to full-rate production.

• Resource Management: Own and optimize the production floor, including headcount planning, capital expenditure forecasting, and resource allocation to meet aggressive production targets.

• Process & Systems Excellence: Establish, mature, and continuously refine robust manufacturing processes, operational playbooks, and systems throughout the product development lifecycle to enable efficient scaling and consistent quality.

• Elite people management: Define, track, and manage key performance indicators (KPIs) for financial performance, quality, and on-time delivery, using data to drive continuous improvement and business impact. Attract, develop, and retain top tier talent - Effective management up or out

• Executive Partnership: Act as a key partner to Anduril’s Executive Leadership, contributing to the broader production strategy and vision for the company.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Minimum of 6 years of progressive leadership experience in a Manufacturing/Production role within the hardware development industry, with a demonstrated track record of establishing, building, and scaling manufacturing operations from prototype to full-rate production (on the order of thousands of units).

• Hands on experience in a rapidly evolving NPI environment, defining, developing and launching new products in a production environment.

• Domain Expertise: Deep experience with discrete manufacturing operations in a highly technical industry such as aerospace, defense, consumer electronics, medical devices, or automotive. Experience with complex electromechanical systems is highly valued.

• Strategic & Tactical Acumen: A relentless drive for continuous improvement, a strong outcome orientation, and the ability to both define strategic initiatives and dive into tactical execution to achieve results.

• Technical Collaboration: Demonstrated ability to engage and collaborate effectively with engineering, supply chain, and quality teams on a highly technical level.

• Inspirational Leader: A positive and inspirational leader with a proven ability to assess, attract, develop, and retain high-quality talent, building high-performing, engaged teams.

• Adaptability & Problem Solving: Strong ability to thrive and lead in ambiguous, unstructured, and rapidly evolving environments. Startup experience or experience in fast-growing organizations is highly preferred.

• Influential Communicator: Sophisticated interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to earn credibility, influence diverse stakeholders, and advise across various personalities and organizational levels.

• Strategic Foresight: Demonstrated strategic thinking abilities and the capacity to anticipate challenges and opportunities, "seeing around corners" to proactively address future needs.

• Analytical Prowess: Strong problem-solving and analytical skills, with the ability to understand how complex problems and their solutions integrate within the wider organization and its operational goals.

• Supply Chain Acumen: Significant leadership responsibility and proven success across supply chain, procurement, and warehousing functions essential for scaled manufacturing operations.

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Engineering or a related technical discipline strongly preferred; equivalent practical experience with a proven track record will be considered.

• Security Clearance: Must be eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. Security Clearance.