Materials and Process Engineer II

• ◆Develop, qualify, and maintain special processes for flight hardware, including ablative and thermal protection systems (TPS), coatings, polymers, composites, adhesives, and processes applicable to metallic structures
• ◆Develop and control wet chemical processes (cleaning, etching, passivation, conversion coating and similar).
• ◆Implement corrosion prevention and control practices, and assess chemical compatibility between materials, process fluids, and service environments
• ◆Design experiments, methodologies, and pathfinder hardware to de-risk processes, and characterize materials and processes through mechanical, thermal, chemical, and microstructural testing, and use statistical methods to define process windows
• ◆Define tooling, fixture, test equipment, cleanliness, contamination control, and material handling

for assigned processes and flight hardware

• ✓Develop and maintain Special Process Specifications, Process Qualification and Validation Records and Control Plans
• ✓Lead and contribute to RCCAs, MRB and failure review boards for material and process non-conformances, including corrosion, surface contamination, defects found in NDE, test, or inspection, failure analysis (fractography, metallography, SEM/EDS, chemical analysis) in-house or through partner labs.

Basic

• ✓B.S. in Materials Science, Mechanical, Chemical, or Aerospace Engineering, or similar, or demonstrated equivalent experience and expertise.
• ✓1+ years of materials, process, or manufacturing engineering experience in aerospace or another high-reliability industry.
• ✓Expertise in materials science (metals, polymers, ceramics, composites) and their failure modes, corrosion mechanisms, and basic chemistry (acid-base reactions, pH, material compatibility with process chemicals).
• ✓Hands-on experience with at least one relevant process or lab method (composite layup and cure, bonding, coating application, ablative or TPS fabrication, wet chemical processing, welding, machining, mechanical testing, or metallography).
• ✓Expertise in basic statistics (descriptive statistics, distributions, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, regression).
• ✓Expertise reading engineering drawings, material specifications, and test reports, with strong first-principles problem solving to diagnose process defects and drive corrective action.
• ✓Experience working safely with process chemicals, including acids, bases, and solvents, using proper PPE and handling procedures.
• ✓Must be physically able to regularly lift 25 lbs., bend, stoop, and stand for extended periods while working directly with flight hardware.

• ✓M.S. or PhD in Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, or a related discipline.
• ✓Experience with ablative or high-temperature materials (phenolic-impregnated carbon ablator, carbon-carbon, ceramic matrix composites, silicone or epoxy-based ablatives).
• ✓Experience with polymer and composite processing (prepreg layup, autoclave and out-of-autoclave cure, resin infusion, potting, bonding, cure kinetics).
• ✓Experience with coatings, surface treatments, including thermal barrier coatings, anodization, conversion coatings, passivation, paints, primers, including surface prep and adhesion testing.