Job Description

Overview

Anduril Industries is a defense technology company focused on transforming military capabilities with advanced technology. The Sheet Metal team within Development Manufacturing creates low-volume prototype and development hardware, collaborating closely with design engineers to bring engineering concepts to life.

Responsibilities

  • Build prototype sheet-metal hardware from concept through completion using drawings, CAD models, work instructions, and direct collaboration with engineering.
  • Develop flat patterns and bend sequences while accounting for material type, thickness, bend radius, springback, and part geometry.
  • Set up, program, and operate fabrication equipment such as CNC press brakes, waterjets, lasers, punches, and related shop equipment as your training progresses.
  • Select tooling, establish setups, adjust processes, and troubleshoot issues affecting part quality or manufacturability.
  • Perform secondary operations including deburring, graining, drilling, tapping, countersinking, hardware insertion, finishing, and light machining.
  • Inspect your work throughout the build, identify issues early, and correct or escalate problems before parts move downstream.
  • Partner directly with engineers on formability, bend relief, hole-to-bend spacing, hardware selection, and other design-for-fabrication considerations.
  • Cross-train on additional machines and fabrication processes so the team can respond quickly as program priorities change.
  • Help maintain fabrication equipment, work areas, and shop readiness while following Anduril and OSHA safety requirements.

Requirements

  • 2+ years of hands-on experience in sheet metal fabrication, machining, manufacturing, automotive, motorsports, or another mechanically focused fabrication environment; or successful completion of an accredited vocational, technical, or trade program in sheet metal fabrication, welding, machining, manufacturing technology, or a closely related discipline.
  • Ability to read and work from technical drawings, sketches, models, or fabrication instructions.
  • Working knowledge of basic shop math and experience using precision measuring tools.
  • Demonstrated mechanical aptitude and ability to learn new equipment, processes, and technical concepts.
  • Ability to take ownership of assigned work, follow through with limited supervision, and ask for guidance when requirements or conditions are unclear.
  • Willingness to develop proficiency across multiple sheet-metal fabrication processes through structured training and cross-training.
  • Ability to work safely in an industrial fabrication environment and follow applicable shop safety procedures.
  • Must be a U.S. Person due to required access to U.S. export-controlled information.

How this job compares in Costa Mesa, CA

Pay in context

At roughly $33/hr, this posting lands within a few percent of the $31/hr median for welder fabricator jobs across California, whose middle half runs $26–$36/hr across 63 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 57% of the comparable postings we have wage data for. In other words it is a market-rate offer, so benefits, overtime, and shift schedule are where the real difference between this and the next posting on the list shows up.

The local market in Costa Mesa, CA

Costa Mesa, CA is a small market in our index: 2 other active welding openings alongside this one, from 2 employers. Across California as a whole we're tracking 623 other active welding openings from 288 employers. With this few local postings, most welders here end up either commuting or looking at travel work. Browse welding jobs across California.

Anduril Industries currently has 4 other openings live in California, which is usually a sign of either steady growth or steady turnover — worth asking which in the interview.

The most active employers in California at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are SpaceX (34), Vast (22), and Relativity Space (20). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

Within California, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are Redondo Beach at $71/hr, Long Beach at $54/hr, and Torrance at $43/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.

Similar openings near Costa Mesa, CA

Pay figures are medians computed from live postings in the Welding Pros index, not from survey data, and they move as employers post. Sheet Metal Fabrication Tech - Prototype Development figures were last recalculated when this page was built.