Drone Engineer Jobs in Ohio (NOW HIRING)

The Launched Effects team at Anduril is responsible for scaling the manufacturing and delivery of the ALTIUS family of systems (including the ALTIUS-600 and ALTIUS-700). As the premier Air-Launched Effects (ALE) platform for the U.S. military and its allies, ALTIUS is redefining modern warfare. These tube-launched, autonomous aerial systems must be built to survive extreme deployment environments, requiring precision manufacturing of advanced composites, complex avionics, and modular payload integrations for ISR, Electronic Warfare, and kinetic strike capabilities.
As part of the Launched Effects manufacturing team, you will bridge the gap between cutting-edge R&D and high-rate production. We are a fast-moving, mission-driven group of manufacturing engineers, quality specialists, and production operations experts who refuse to accept traditional, slow defense manufacturing timelines. We continuously optimize our assembly lines, implement automated testing, design for manufacturing (DFM), and build resilient supply chains to deploy reliable systems to the front lines at unprecedented speed. If you want to work on a team where your production and manufacturing decisions directly impact global security, this is it.

We are looking for a Senior Product Quality Engineer (PQE) in Anduril's Drone Program to join our rapidly growing team in Columbus, OH. In this role, you will define and execute quality strategies across the full product lifecycle of advanced drone systems - from design validation through production and field performance. You will develop and maintain inspection criteria, test protocols, and acceptance standards to ensure hardware meets rigorous reliability and performance requirements. Working closely with design, manufacturing, supplier quality, and support engineering teams, you will collaborate on root cause corrective action (RCCA) efforts both internally and across the supply chain - partnering with supplier quality engineering to investigate non-conformances and drive corrective actions on incoming materials and components. You will champion process improvements that reduce defects and increase yield, maintain quality documentation including control plans, failure analysis reports, and RCCA records, and support new product introductions by establishing quality gates and first-article inspection processes. This role requires expertise in quality methodologies (FMEA, SPC, 8D), a strong foundation in mechanical systems and blueprint interpretation, and hands-on experience with test and measurement tools. If you thrive in a fast-paced environment, bring strong analytical and communication skills, and have a passion for continuous improvement and product excellence, this role is for you.
This position is permanently based in Ashville, OH, and requires candidates to temporarily relocate for a comprehensive 3-month training program: 1 month in Santa Ana, CA, followed by 2 months (approximately) in Atlanta, GA. To support your transition, Anduril will fully provide and cover all corporate housing, transportation, and travel accommodations during this training period. Your recruiter will discuss the logistics of this program with you in detail during the hiring process.

As a Senior Product Quality Engineer at Anduril in Ashville, OH, you will work inside & outside the organization to define, develop, and execute processes that deliver high quality programs. This role focuses on collaborating and driving early engagement with our design teams and partner to meet our quality requirements the first time and to evaluate the product health & performance. The right person for this role has knowledge of product performance, sub-system performance criteria, metrology, and continuous improvement. An ideal candidate for this role has experiences in manufacturing, product development, test/system performance criteria, metrology, and quality planning. If you are someone who loves to build world-class quality processes and missile products, work hands-on with engineering, and be accountable for results of a small team, then this role is for you.

• Drive product development and production for Altius programs using processes such as drawing and work instruction reviews, quality planning, inspection, acceptance test performance management, end-of-line metrics, verification, validation, and qualification of processes and parts, sub-assemblies, and the vehicle, itself.
• Drive clarity & resolution for production ambiguities associated with product maturity, process stability, and field performance.
• Champion the transition from new product introduction (NPI) to a sustainable & predictable, high rate manufacturing process, supply chain, and deployment support.
• Own the elimination of product risk to improve reliability across the product lifecycle.
• Ensure the execution of product and process requirements. Define and improve such requirements.
• Lead Root Cause and Corrective Action (RCCA), Material Review Board (MRB) activities, and inspection process performance. Review the effectiveness of actions and share lessons learned across the product team.
• Lead product health data analysis and improvement activities. Establish metrics for measuring quality and the factors that predict quality performance.
• Support the continuous improvement of the Quality Management System. Define and improve required documentation and activities.
• Develop an overall quality plan (similar to APQP) for various missile projects. Leverage resources and direct reports to delivery quality through the development cycle. Design, development, and leverage elements of the Anduril QMS to build confidence and containment for missile customers quality expectations. Set expectations for qualification of internal and external manufacturing processes including measurement methods, PPAP/FAI, inspection methods & test protocol & acceptance test plans for missile programs. Lead the transition from engineering qualification to manufacturing variance testing for product quality coverage.
• Lead product health data analysis and improvement activities for the missile projects.
• Matrix lead supplier quality engineers who are supporting the design and development activities with the suppliers for Missile programs.

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or similar technical field
• Experience in Engineering, Manufacturing, or Quality on VTOL, Aviation or high velocity vehicle systems.
• Working knowledge of design review and quality management of missile systems, PCBA, harnessing, avionics, systems integration, composites/control surfaces, propulsion systems, and lethality systems.
• Experience driving product quality and performance requirements to test and measurement system development and optimization. Knowledgeable of missile storage and maintenance processes.
• Experience partnering with Reliability Engineering, chief engineers, architects, manufacturing engineering, and customer facing team members to deliver to customer requirements.
• Working knowledge of product development methodologies such as Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA), Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP), Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) elements such as Measurement Systems Analysis (MSA), and Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T).
• Working knowledge of mechanical and/or electrical manufacturing processes. Application of industry standards and best practices
• A strong ownership mindset with demonstrated capability to drive projects from start to completion.
• Analytical skills and experiences for data mining, data quality, metrics generation, issue management systems, and statistical analysis tools (MatLab, JMP, MiniTab, etc)
• Must be able to obtain and hold a U.S. TS/SCI security clearance

• Master's degree in a technical field
• 6+ years of experience with developing quality systems for low volume, high complex manufacturing environments and suppliers. Working knowledge of AS9100/ AS6500 / ISO 9001-based Quality Management System requirements.
• Experience with IPC standards and general workmanship standards.

Experience with government contracts and MIL standard requirements commonly applied to quality requirements for aerial vehicles. Experience with Teamcenter, SolidWorks/NX, Jira, Foundry, and manufacturing execution