Senior Materials & Processes Engineer, Powder Bed Fusion (PBF)

About the Team:  

The Materials and NDE (Non-Destructive Evaluation) team plays a central role in enabling Terran R to fly, re-fly, and scale: developing, characterizing, and inspecting materials and processes across all parts of the vehicle. From welding and additive manufacturing to advanced composites, the team works at the intersection of innovation and execution, balancing performance and reliability with cost, quality, and schedule. As we move toward first flight and beyond, the challenges become more exciting, offering opportunities to shape how we design and develop for re-use. With ownership across products, systems, and disciplines, engineers gain broad exposure and drive key decisions across design, manufacturing, and operations.

About the Role: 

• Be the M&P discipline expert for Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) additive manufacturing of reusable launch vehicle products
• Be the M&P owner of reusable Liquid Propulsion Products and Materials Systems
• Qualify PBF materials and products for flight + reuse
• Drive system level requirements and workflows to qualify PBF materials + parts for damage tolerant design, inspection, flight, and reuse
• Develop, implement, and maintain technical specifications and engineering standards for our PBF materials
• Drive PBF material process improvement campaigns in partnership with the PBF engineering team
• Interface with:
  • PBF Engineering + Production staff to iterate and qualify PBF processes
  • Materials engineering staff to identify, define, and fill critical technology gaps
  • Laboratory staff to characterize PBF materials and processes
  • Design Engineers for product materials selection, allowables development, analysis, qualification, flight, and reuse
  • Manufacturing Engineers to reduce cost + rate while maintaining needed performance from our PBF printed materials
  • Quality assurance to facilitate specification compliance validation across all PBF processes
  • Propulsion Engineers to perform failure analysis, root cause and corrective action campaigns when PBF parts fail in service
  • Relativity + Customer Fracture Control Boards to achieve vehicle reuse with PBF printed parts
  • Company Leadership to elevate risks and power through roadblocks
    

About You:  

• Bachelor’s degree in materials science or engineering, or related field
• 5+ years of relevant materials engineering experience
  • Leveling is flexible and will be adjusted for candidates with more experience
• Experience with general propulsion hardware M&P activities, such as material selection, qualification, damage tolerance, inspections, risk assessments, and failure analysis
• Experience performing material and part qualifications for AM PBF hardware
• A core commitment to accountability, collaboration, and execution
• A desire to establish and foster strong interdisciplinary relationships across the company
• An authentic, introspective, and inclusive mindset towards technical, interpersonal, team growth, and development
• Passion to work in a fast-paced and challenging environment on constantly iterating PBF printed rocket engine products, driving big impact on critical program needs as we ramp manufacturing rate + achieve reuse
  

Nice to haves, but not required:  

• Industry-leading expertise in metal PBF additive manufacturing for production of reusable rocket engine or aerospace parts
• Expertise in nickel, ferrous, aluminum, or titanium alloy systems
• Metallic AM experience beyond PBF: EBAM, LP-DED, WAAM, Cold Spray, etc.
• Metallic fusion welding M&P expertise in Laser Welding, EBW, GTAW, GMAW, etc.
• Metallic wrought, forging, or casting M&P expertise
• Knowledge of surface modification processes and coatings relevant to inhibit surface damage + corrosion of reusable rocket parts
• Statistical experimental design and design allowable calculation methodology expertise