Trainee Minerals Processing Engineer Jobs in California

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 JOB The Staff Global Sourcing Manager, Critical Minerals (Rare Earth Magnets) is the domain expert and single-threaded leader for a designated critical mineral (e.g., rare earth magnets, germanium, tungsten, antimony, gallium) at Anduril Industries. This is a high-impact role focused on securing the raw materials that power our products against a backdrop of concentrated geopolitical risk, volatile pricing, and opaque multi-tier supply chains. As the lead for your assigned mineral, you will own the global mandate end-to-end: market intelligence, tiered supply chain mapping, supplier and government relationship management, should-cost modeling, contracting, and stockpiling strategy. You will operate as the hub of a cross-functional pod to translate Anduril's aggregate demand into a resilient sourcing strategy that enhances supplies from US-friendly sources, protects BOM cost, and ensures continuity of supply across NPI and mass production. WHAT YOU'LL DO * Strategy & Visibility * Own the commodity strategy for your assigned critical mineral, with explicit focus on supply chain resilience, geopolitical risk mitigation (particularly PRC concentration in mining and refinement), cost, and quality * Build and maintain tiered supply chain mapping from Anduril end products down to the raw material, quantify revenue exposure and BOM impact to prioritize where deeper intervention is needed * Market Intelligence & Comms * Maintain expert-level market intelligence and deliver weekly updates on pricing, disruptions, and geopolitical signals * Host monthly cross-functional pod tag-ups, lead quarterly strategy reviews, and conduct regular executive briefings on market conditions and mitigation plans * Sourcing Execution * Lead RFI/RFQ/RFP processes across miners, refiners, processors, and component suppliers * Perform should-cost and TCO analysis; negotiate key agreements (offtake, pricing, capacity reservations, payment terms) suited to volatile, concentrated markets * Evaluate and recommend strategic interventions (stockpiling, prepayments, JVs, equity investments, vertical integration), partnering with CorpDev and Finance * Relationship Management * Build trusted relationships with suppliers, industry associations, and U.S./allied government bodies (DoD, DPA Title III, DLA, DOE); represent Anduril externally for your commodity * Cross-Functional Leadership * Lead a cross-functional pod spanning product sourcing, parent commodity managers, Engineering, and CorpDev/Finance * Partner with Engineering to qualify alternates, influence specs, and design out single points of failure * Supplier & Performance Management * Own supplier performance (delivery, quality, cost, innovation), serving as primary escalation point and managing continuity of supply through NPI-to-MP transitions REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS * Bachelor's degree in supply chain, engineering, or related technical field * 10+ years of experience in commodity management, strategic sourcing with direct exposure to critical minerals or their downstream products (e.g., rare earth magnets, germanium, gallium, tungsten, antimony, lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese) * Demonstrated experience navigating concentrated, geopolitically sensitive supply chains * Ability to travel up to 50% of the time , including international travel to mines, refiners, and processors * Ability to relocate, if not already local to be onsite in Costa Mesa, CA PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS * Advanced degree (Master's or Doctorate) in materials science, chemical sciences or metallurgical or mining engineering; additionally exposure to business via on-the-job training; an MBA is a big plus * Previous experience in defense, aerospace, automotive, high tech, or related industry with deep raw material dependencies * Experience working with U.S. government programs supporting domestic critical mineral supply (e.g., DPA Title III, DOE Loan Programs Office, DLA National Defense Stockpile) * Hands-on experience with multi-tier supply chain visibility tools * Strong should-cost and TCO analysis skills in a product-based ecosystem * Strategic thinker with a track record of building commodity roadmaps alongside engineering and finance stakeholders * Experience structuring or supporting non-traditional commercial arrangements (long-term offtake, prepayments, equity investments, JVs) * Proven cross-functional leadership and ability to influence at all levels of an organization * Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. TS clearance US Salary Range $191,000 - $253,000 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 . * 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 . 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 https://anduril.com/applicant-privacy-notice/ . 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.