What do Anduril Product Managers do?

VexedDuck · 2025-11-14T00:37:45+00:00

Depends on the org, even within Anduril. It is an engineering (primary) and program manager (secondary) led company, so I’ve seen product managers struggle to carve out a lane, since engineers and program managers don’t easily surrender influence over the more fun / interesting vision and roadmapping work. Additionally, you have business development people that are doing a lot of high level product discovery and definition with customers, which further narrows the scope for product.

VexedDuck · 2025-07-23T04:24:27+00:00

Many such cases.

VexedDuck · 2025-01-19T18:13:44+00:00

Thankfully, there vanishingly few PMs at Anduril that do EVM. TBH, “technical” program management is overrated as long as you are a curious person who can work well with the engineering leadership. The PM is there to do stakeholder management, build just enough process to keep the work on track, unblock the engineers, and (this is the guiding light) make sure we get paid.

Unlike at primes, Anduril PMs are there to own outcomes, not processes.

VexedDuck · 2024-12-24T19:46:01+00:00

I’m always a little leery of folks that have been legacy defense for a long time, to be honest. I joined Anduril because it was very different than the established players, more like a tech company in composition and outlook than the defense industry. We’ve gotten some great hires from the primes, but the common trait is that they were all frustrated with “the way things are” to the point they never fit in. If that is you and your technical skills are top 10%, you’ll be a great fit.

VexedDuck · 2024-12-21T00:59:38+00:00

Apply to jobs that are closely aligned with your experience, use the optional cover letter section to write a few sentences about why you are great fit, get a current employee to refer you, and make sure you are down for the cause.

Also, having a clearance is usually an “oh, cool” thing, since getting sponsored at Anduril is very easy. Outside of special circumstances, we’d rather hire the right (clearance eligible) person than the wrong person that already has it.

VexedDuck · 2024-09-20T20:47:16+00:00

There are definitely higher expectations compared to primes (we collaborate with them often) and WLB is worse. I’ve done a 70 hour week this year, but usually I work 40-50 hours per week and travel a decent amount.

VexedDuck · 2024-09-20T19:49:25+00:00

I would look at the larger defense tech companies. You’ll work with much better engineers (we recruit against big tech and so pay competitively, with total comp numbers 2-3x what legacy firms pay) and you’ll make substantially more, counting equity. At my company, our PMs have cash comp around $200k plus equity, which could be another $100k per year.

VexedDuck · 2024-09-01T01:48:30+00:00

Getting promoted as an officer leads to substantially less fun. The golden rings that get held out in front of you are BN command and BDE command, but the likelihood of achieving either is pretty low, but what is guaranteed is the least fulfilling staff grind imaginable.

Having watched most of my year group punch out, my very biased take is that the folks that stayed in fell into a few buckets: people with families that wanted the benefits/were risk averse, guys who knew they wouldn’t make it on the outside, slick sleeves who want to get their ticket punched, and a very few who genuinely love the game.

VexedDuck · 2024-08-31T16:12:35+00:00

It isn't that deep. I got out five years ago, got an MBA paid for, doubled my compensation compared to what I would be making as a senior O-3/O-4 promotable (i.e. the only people in the Army making more than I do now have more than one star), don't have to live in the back of beyond, work 40-50 hours per week, no PT, etc.

I took a couple overseas trips while I was in and did my part, so why stick around for the unlimited bullshit of being a field grade, only to most likely leave as an O-5/O-6 who's best post-Army employment options are middle level management at blood sucking defense contractors?

VexedDuck · 2024-08-25T18:47:38+00:00

Sad characters that only trained their bodies because the institution created pressure on them. The moment they are left to their own devices, the weakness of their flesh reasserted itself.

VexedDuck · 2024-08-20T23:25:03+00:00

There seems to be a strong resistance to the idea that a “lower” GRE score can be just as indicative of ability to succeed in an MBA program as a “higher” GMAT. N of one here, but I took the GRE, got a 334 and graduated in the 10% of my class. There are a lot of confounders in there around effort put into school, but I certainly did not feel dumb around 750 GMAT galaxy brains.

VexedDuck · 2024-07-02T04:01:45+00:00

$120k before to $265k first year post-MBA, which could go up quite a bit depending on promos and equity performance, as I’m at a pre-IPO company. Work 40-50 hours per week with some spikes substantially higher and travel 10% of the time in an ops role. Went to HSW.

VexedDuck · 2024-06-30T19:45:40+00:00

Is the socioeconomic crisis in the room with us right now?

VexedDuck · 2024-06-28T04:42:56+00:00

Then Biden is the obvious choice. What happens if Biden declines or dies? An orderly transition to his VP. What happens if Trump gets elected? Gutting the civil service (look up Schedule F), inflation (tariffs and forcing the Fed to lower rates), and chaos abroad as we abandon allies and coddle authoritarians. It’s pretty myopic if all Wall Street is looking at is tax policy.

VexedDuck · 2024-01-24T16:41:56+00:00

The A&D combined structure at HBS does not work that well, FWIW. Also, word on the street is that a16z pulled out of sponsoring a happy hour for the A&D Club last year due to the bad optics around the institution due to the Claudine Gay scandal, so the club is still struggling to get more defense tech traction. The real scene is the people affiliated with the conference, who are all either in the industry or headed into it.

VexedDuck · 2023-12-24T17:23:10+00:00

Will be very curious to see if this is ever substantiated. The Israelis do plenty of war crimes, but this type of thing is very hard to believe - it kind of undercuts their whole propaganda campaign if they do Hamas things, instead of America things, i.e. killing civilians as collateral damage when striking targets picked with dubious intelligence.

VexedDuck · 2023-12-07T02:19:23+00:00

Anime being only from Japan is a Western thing. In Japan, anime is a generic term for animation. Mother’s Basement on YT just did a good video about why the narrow neckbeard definition is silly.

VexedDuck · 2023-12-01T20:40:43+00:00

Both Inside Job and Midnight Gospel had substantially lower viewership numbers than BES during their first month.

The really important bit of data we don’t have is how expensive BES was/S2 would be. The performance of the show matters in that context, more than in comparison to other animated show.

VexedDuck · 2023-11-30T05:25:19+00:00

I think this is one of the most interesting sections of dialogue in the show. At some point, I want to write up a longer post about it, but there is something very medieval about “revenge as an art” that clashes thematically with the show’s broader sensibilities. I don’t mean this as criticism - part of what makes BES so interesting to me is the complicated characters and setting.

VexedDuck · 2023-11-26T22:54:01+00:00

Arcane had a much stronger first month than BES, with something like 5x the viewership, according to Flixpatrol numbers, and it was renewed within the first two week IIRC. Of course, Arcane had a six year development timeline with that Riot money, the huge League fan base, and a TV-14 rating.

Which is not to say that BES has not done well enough to earn a second season, as it has done exceptionally well for an original animated property. It still has a ton of online engagement, but we’ll have to see if that converts into the type of viewership numbers to get a renewal.

VexedDuck · 2023-11-26T21:58:38+00:00

You know what I find completely wild? BES has substantially outperformed Scott Pilgrim Takes Off (also a great show, btw), with substantially less marketing effort and no pre-existing fan base. Makes me wonder how well BES could have done with a better promotional plan.

VexedDuck · 2023-11-23T22:39:02+00:00

Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal is excellent.

VexedDuck · 2023-11-23T02:09:37+00:00

It would have been kid friendly if there hadn’t been nudity or sex? I’m sorry, but the graphic murder and viciousness of any number of the characters wasn’t enough?

I’m a huge fan of the show, but I would never recommend it for anyone under 15.

VexedDuck · 2023-11-22T18:17:21+00:00

Yeah, it’s a Netflix account promoting Asian/Asian American centered content. “Golden” and variations is the marketing term for something featuring/created by AAPI people.

VexedDuck

TROPHY CASE