SpaceX Sr. Materials Engineer at SpaceX leads development of advanced polymeric materials for hardware programs. Responsible for formulation, testing, scale-up, and collaboration with engineering and production teams.
Responsibilities
Partner with engineers to define material requirements, translate design criteria into technical targets, and provide clear progress updates
Own technical decision-making throughout the development process, selecting and refining pathways that deliver materials meeting or exceeding design requirements
Investigate and resolve material failures or unexpected results, turning issues into actionable learnings that accelerate project progress
Act as a technical expert and project owner for polymeric material development efforts
Guide and mentor project specialists and technicians in executing formulation, testing, and process development work
Collaborate closely with engineering and production teams to ensure new materials are successfully integrated into production work centers
Lead the iterative development cycle by designing efficient experiments, analyzing data, drawing conclusions, and defining the next set of actions
Drive materials development projects from initial concept through full qualification and production scale-up
Coordinate with materials laboratories to plan, prioritize, and interpret characterization and performance testing
Work with production and manufacturing teams to support process scale-up, improve manufacturability, and enable reliable high-volume production
Maintain thorough technical documentation of development decisions, test results, and qualification data
Qualification
Bachelor’s degree in ChemistryMaster’s degree or PhD in Chemistry
Required
Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Polymer Science, Materials Science and Engineering
5+ years of professional experience in polymeric material formulation, chemical synthesis, polymer chemistry or a non-metallic materials engineering role
Preferred
Master’s degree or PhD in Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Polymer Science, Materials Science and Engineering or a related discipline
Deep understanding of organic and polymer chemistries
Demonstrated ability to manage multiple concurrent projects with clear schedules and deliverables
Strong engineering judgment and self-motivation with a track record of driving projects independently
Experience in R&D pertaining to non-metallic materials (adhesives, paints, coatings, seals, emulsions, etc)
Experience designing polymeric materials, manufacturing polymeric materials, and/or translating developed materials to production.
Demonstrated ability to perform root cause analysis on test data, equipment issues, or process deviations
Experience mentoring lab technicians or specialists
