Senior Materials Engineer, SX Casting

SR. MATERIALS ENGINEER – SX CASTING

SpaceX continues to revolutionize the launch industry by combining advanced technological developments with pragmatic and lean manufacturing. This is especially important for the future of rapid and high-volume Starship flight, where power generation is crucial. As a member of the Materials Engineering team, you will own solving complex materials challenges in a rapidly innovating environment. You will regularly interface with engineering and supply chain teams, as well as have hands-on responsibilities with hardware, ultimately ushering in the next era of revolutionary spaceflight. 

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Partner with supply chain, vendors, and engineering teams to accelerate progress on development and production of SX (single crystal) casted components for gas turbines
• Develop, qualify and troubleshoot metal casting processes used in production 
• Provide technical review and advising for design efforts as it relates to material alloy and form selection, tooling, and material and process specifications
• Collaborate with and support vendors on qualification and property development of castings and processes
• Responsible for driving scaling and implementation of casted components to ground systems hardware
• Responsible for coordinating with ground engineering, vehicle engineering, supply chain, vendors, operations, technicians, and senior leadership on a consistent basis to stay aligned on product performance, reliability, manufacturability, and cost requirements
• Dynamically balance the trade between manufacturability, performance, efficiency, and product life with business needs
• Perform root cause investigations using fractography, metallography, and characterization techniques 

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS: 

• Bachelor’s degree in material science, materials engineering, weld engineering, metallurgical engineering, or other related engineering discipline 
• 5+ years of professional experience with developing metal casting technologies
• 3+ years of experience with metallographic characterization techniques and equipment, such as SEM-EDS, optical microscopy, hardness testers, mechanical property testing, and/or spectroscopy techniques for composition or phase 

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE: 

• Master's degree or Ph.D. in material science, materials engineering, weld engineering, metallurgical engineering, or equivalent engineering discipline 
• 5+ years of professional experience with SX casting technologies  
• Experience working on Ni-based superalloy castings
• Strong interpersonal and collaborative skills with enthusiasm for the team’s spirit of innovation in cutting-edge technology 
• Experience with technical review of material processes and a first principles understanding of how process variables impact material performance 
• Demonstrated track record of success in a rapidly growing, fast-paced and highly competitive environment 
• Personality and drive to execute in a scrappy entrepreneurial environment that operates under tight timelines and aggressive schedules 
• Hands-on experience in a high-production manufacturing environment 
• Effective written and interpersonal communication skills 

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Willingness to travel to other SpaceX sites and/or vendors for significant/extended periods of time (up to 35%)
• Ability to lift up to 30 Ibs unassisted
• Standing/walking for long periods of time
• Willingness to work long hours and weekends as necessary to accommodate manufacturing and test campaigns