Senior Materials and Process Engineer, Space

Develop and advance hardware design standards and common parts libraries

Support comprehensive technical documentation (standards, procedures, test reports, vendor specifications, etc.)

Testing & Characterization

Design and conduct testing to establish materials performance properties.

Manage relationships with internal and external test laboratories for materials characterization and failure analysis

Accelerate material evaluation, implementation, and qualification

Select appropriate characterization equipment; oversee data acquisition and analysis

Contamination Control

Develop and manage contamination budgets across multiple space programs, balancing operational costs with performance risks

Implement and monitor contamination controls in assembly, integration, and test (AI&T) environments including cleanrooms, thermal chambers, and TVAC facilities

Establish contamination monitoring protocols and cleanliness verification procedures

Apply working knowledge of contamination control procedures and best practices for precision optics

EEE Parts & PCBA Process Oversight

Develop and maintain EEE parts selection and qualification

across programs

Define PCBA process specifications including soldering, conformal coating, staking, rework, and inspection criteria

Evaluate tin whisker and lead-free solder risks on commercial parts; develop mitigation strategies

Support avionics qualification, test planning and execution

Material Selection and Design Support

Collaborate with design engineers to select appropriate materials for spacecraft components

Conduct material trade studies, evaluating performance against cost, manufacturability, and space environmental compatibility

Understand how material selection affects the spacecraft subsystems including contamination of precision optics over the lifecycle of the spacecraft

Cross-Program Leadership

Use first principles as a basis for decisions. Continuously look for opportunities to simplify and standardize.

Prioritize efforts across multiple concurrent programs based on technical risk and schedule impact

Identify recurring issues and implement scalable solutions as the organization grows

Support failure reviews and root cause investigations, building consensus on corrective actions

Support material review boards and evaluate material waiver requests

Review vendor and subcontractor designs for materials and contamination compliance; develop clear technical

BS in Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Chemistry, Physics, or related field

3+ years of hands-on experience with space hardware materials and processes.

Familiarity with space industry standards (NASA-STD-6001, ECSS-Q-ST-70C, etc.)

Proven experience establishing technical standards or specifications for hardware programs

Strong foundation in materials science principles, including material properties, surface chemistry, and contamination mechanisms

Demonstrated ability to design experiments, analyze data, and draw defensible engineering conclusions

Self-directed work style with ability to define scope for ambiguous problems

Knowledge of manufacturing processes (bonding, heat treating, machining, coating, surface finishing, welding, composites, soldering, etc.)

Experience with contamination control and/or EEE parts selection and PCBA materials (manufacturing, acceptability, failure analysis) is highly desired.

For candidates with contamination control experience the following are desired:

Intimate familiarity with cleanroom classification levels, best practices, and operations

For candidates with EEE parts selection and printed circuit board assembly experience the following are desired:

Experience with EEE parts qualification and destructive physical analysis (DPA)

Knowledge of manufacturing processes (PCB manufacturing, PCB assembly)

Experience with conformal coating selection, application processes and inspection

Proficiency in interpreting data from different material characterization techniques (FTIR, SEM, TGA, etc.)

Understanding of space environment effects (charged particle radia