Head of Sensors & Radar Strategic Supply Chain

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 Head of Optical & Radar Strategic Supply Chain is a Director leadership role responsible for architecting and executing the sourcing strategy across all optical & radar commodities. This includes EO/IR sensor systems, focal plane arrays (FPAs/detectors), precision optics and diamond-turned lenses, optical coatings, LiDAR, laser designators/transceivers, RF/microwave assemblies, Transmit/Receive (T/R) modules, AESA radar subsystems, MMICs (GaN/GaAs), specialized radomes, and battery packs.

This role is critical to securing the advanced technologies and components that power our mission-critical hardware. you will navigate complex geopolitical landscapes, tightly regulated defense supply channels, and constrained global commodity markets. You will lead a high-performing team to build a resilient, scalable, and high-velocity supply chain capable of moving rapidly from New Product Introduction (NPI) to high-volume production. Partnering closely with Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, and Executive Leadership, you will secure supply continuity against global market volatility, drive cost and technology roadmaps, and negotiate key commercial partnerships with global component manufacturers, distributors, and contract manufacturers.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Enterprise Supply Chain Vision & Strategy: Define and execute multi-year global sourcing strategies across complex sensor domains, including Active Electronically Scanned Arrays (AESA), millimeter-wave radar, SWIR/MWIR/LWIR cooled and uncooled optical engines, precision optomechanics, and beam-steering systems.
• Team Leadership & Scale: Build, mentor, and lead a high-performing team of commodity managers, strategic sourcing leads, and technical sourcing engineers across multiple global sites.
• Supplier Relationship Management: Drive deep sub-tier visibility beyond Tier 1. Manage investments in supplier-owned tooling, cleanroom allocations, precision optical fabrication machinery (MRF, diamond turning), and specialized RF/optical test fixtures (anechoic chambers, collimators, interferometers).
• Cross-Functional Engineering Alignment: Partner directly with Optical Engineers, RF/Antenna Designers, and Sensor Architecture teams during early-stage R&D/NPI to qualify state-of-the-art detector technology, influence "Design for Manufacturing & Test" (DFM/DFT), and establish yield-improvement roadmaps.
• Commercial & Strategic Negotiations: Lead high-stakes negotiations for master service agreements (MSAs), development agreements, long-term supply agreements (LTSAs), and complex statement of works (SOWs)—optimizing pricing structures, IP protection, warranty, payment terms, and lead-time commitments.
• Supply Chain Resilience & Risk Mitigation: Proactively identify single-source dependencies, geopolitical vulnerabilities, and capacity constraints. Drive proactive risk mitigation plans, dual-sourcing strategies, and strategic buffer inventory models.
• Cost Architecture & TCO Modeling: Champion robust "should-cost" modeling, teardown analyses, and TCO evaluations to optimize value from concept through end-of-life.
• Executive Communication: Conduct regular operational and strategic reviews with C-suite and executive leadership, serving as the primary executive escalation point for all critical supply chain matters.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Engineering, Operations, Business, or a related technical discipline.
• 10+ years of experience in optical & radar strategic sourcing, global commodity management, or supply chain leadership within complex hardware manufacturing environments.
• 5+ years of proven experience building, managing, and scaling high-performing procurement or supply chain teams.
• Demonstrated expertise negotiating enterprise-level agreements and managing electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) architectures, radar/RF sub-tier manufacturing (T/R modules, phased arrays), or precision optics fabrication.
• Proven track record of managing supplier lifecycles and negotiating complex multi-million-dollar commercial agreements.
• Deep understanding of New Product Introduction (NPI) workflows and scaling from prototype to high-rate production.
• Ability to travel up to 25%-50% domestically and internationally as needed.
• Ability to relocate, if not already local to be onsite in Costa Mesa.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, optical engineering, or physics
• Previous experience in defense, aerospace, automotive, high tech, or related industry
• Well-versed in TCO and should costing analysis to ensure data-driven analytics tied to component and supplier selection, in a product-based ecosystem
• Strategic thinker, experienced putting together commodities strategy/roadmap with key engineering stakeholders
• Proven leadership in driving and influencing other teams to a common goal. You know how to effectively communicate and collaborate cross functionally and with all levels within an organization
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Security clearance

US Salary Range

$260,000—$345,000 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 [email protected]. 

• 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 [email protected]. 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.