Staff Materials and Process Engineer
Mainspring Energy · Menlo Park, CA
- Level
- Senior
- Team
- Process
- Experience asked
- 8+ years
- Industry
- Industrial
- Posted
- 30+ days ago
The role in 30 seconds
A senior process role at Mainspring Energy (industrial) in Menlo Park, CA. , you will develop reliable cost effective materials solutions and manage existing solutions through validation testing, process development and deployment on an actual part/subassembly.
- They ask for
- 8+ years
- Tools it names
- FMEA, Control plans, Validation (IQ/OQ/PQ), Painting / coating
Read from the posting. The full description is below.
From the plant jobs report · week of October 19, 2026
Process Engineer roles in California: typical posted base $120k–$171k.
Median of the low and high ends of 59 live postings that list pay, out of 94 process engineer openings in California, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.
California plant jobs report →Pay by team and state →What moves pay →
How this role compares
Against 93 other live process postings in California.
- Base pay
- Not listed in this posting
- Experience asked
- More than usual (8+ vs 5+)
Typical $120k–$171k, from 57 postings that list pay.
Similar roles usually ask 5+ years.
Skills these teams ask for most
- Root cause 46%
- DOE 31%
- SPC 29%
- ✓ Validation (IQ/OQ/PQ) 22%
- New product launch 22%
- Team leadership 21%
✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.
At a glance
Pulled from the posting text. If it's not listed here, the posting didn't say.
How to get in at this plant
Five moves over a week or two. The first one takes ten minutes.
- 1
Pick 2–3 people on the Process team at Mainspring Energy
Engineers who joined in the last year or two reply the most. Use the team search on this page to find them.
- 2
Send a short, curious note
One real question about their work. No favors yet. Each person gets a different note, written for this role.
- 3
Turn a reply into a short call
Questions worth asking about this team:
- What does a normal week look like on your team?
- Is the work mostly new product launches or sustaining existing lines?
- How much time do you spend on the floor versus at a desk?
- How did you land the job? What stood out in your interviews?
- 4
Apply with someone vouching for you
If the call went well, ask whether they’d pass your résumé to the hiring manager. Send your résumé link, apply that day, and let them know.
- 5
Bring proof to the interview
One page of before-and-after numbers from projects you led: scrap, OEE, cycle time, cost. Plant managers hire on results.
This plant: Mainspring Energy in Menlo Park
14 other open roles at this site.
- Vice President, Electrical Engineering · Reliability · Director+
- Sustaining Controls Engineer · Controls
- Senior Reaction Controls Engineer · Controls · Senior
- Senior/Staff Materials Process Engineer · Process · Senior
- Senior Materials and Process Engineer · Process · Senior
- Director, Reliability Engineering · Reliability · Director+
Full description from Mainspring EnergyAs posted on their careers site.ShowHide
Responsibilities
- ◆Lead independent process development and material validation of graphite components and tribological systems in the Linear Generator
- ◆Collaborate with other members of the Materials and Engineering teams to characterize graphite properties, identify failure modes, and execute validation tests to meet reliability
requirements
- ✓Create, develop, and optimize material and process specifications related to graphite and other mechanical components
- ✓Write specifications, process control, and quality control plans for graphite and other mechanical components
- ✓Collaborate with other teams such as mechanical design, supply chain and quality to qualify processes and establish key process controls at manufacturing locations
- ✓Participate in FMEA for design, process, and maintenance
- ✓Support the Materials and Process team with failure analysis and process development projects in other areas
Qualifications
- ✓MS in Materials Science/Engineering or Mechanical Engineering
- ✓MS + 8 years or PhD + 5 years of industry experience
- ✓Deep understanding of isostatic graphite structure, properties and performance, including graphite manufacturing processes
- ✓Fundamental understanding of properties and performance of engineering materials, and basic knowledge of structure-property relationships
- ✓Experience with volume production of graphite components is highly preferred
- ✓Knowledge of dry (solid lubrication) tribology relative to ceramic or graphite materials is highly preferred
- ✓Working knowledge and experience with FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis)
- ✓Demonstrated experience with statistical data analysis and reporting (Matlab/Python, Google Sheets/Excel, Weibull++, etc.)
- ✓Excellent communication skills, adaptable self-starter, enjoys collaboration in a fast-paced environment
Show full description ↓Show less ↑
About Mainspring
Mainspring Energy manufactures and delivers fuel-flexible, low-emissions local power solutions that rapidly add new capacity and deliver reliable, affordable, and sustainable electric power. The company began commercial shipments of its Mainspring Linear Generators in 2020 and today has hundreds of megawatts in advanced development and field operations for leading Fortune 500 companies, data centers, and utilities. Mainspring also partners with global energy leaders including AEP, NextEra Energy Resources, Schneider Electric, and more.
The core values that ground our work, guide our decisions, and connect us together:
Pragmatic Optimism
Excellence without Ego
Proactive Collaboration
Job Overview
We have a high-impact opportunity for a Staff Materials and Process Engineer who wants to join a world-class engineering team and help scale production of the Linear Generator. The materials and process team at Mainspring Energy works on complex development projects which are at the intersection of properties, performance and processing of a wide range of materials – non ferrous, ferrous, coatings, graphite, polymers etc.
In this role, you will develop reliable cost effective materials solutions and manage existing solutions through validation testing, process development and deployment on an actual part/subassembly. This is a great opportunity to be part of cross functional projects and collaborate with multiple teams such as Supply chain, Quality, Reliability, Design and Production.