Materials and Process Engineer

Varda Space•El Segundo, CA

1d•$181,913 - $262,763•Onsite

About The Position

As a Principal Materials and Process Engineer at Varda, you will set technical direction for materials and processes across the company as it scales from a few bespoke vehicles to consistent, concurrent builds. You will serve as the subject-matter expert for special processes used on flight hardware, including ablative and thermal protection systems (TPS), coatings, polymers, composites, adhesives, wet chemical processing, corrosion control, and metallic structures. You will define the standards, specifications, process qualifications, and control plans used by Varda and its suppliers, and lead root-cause corrective actions (RCCAs), material review board (MRB) activities, and investigations into critical material and process non-conformances. The role involves making sound decisions quickly in an environment without established infrastructure, influencing material decisions across teams, and hiring and mentoring engineers. You will help build Varda’s materials and processes function, including approved materials and processes lists, materials usage agreement processes, and in-house materials laboratory capability. Working with design engineers, technicians, and suppliers, you will support the full range of materials and processes required to manufacture Varda vehicles, incrementally improving each vehicle while establishing standards that enable the organization to scale. This role is on-site in El Segundo, California. The stated salary range is $181,913–$262,763 per year. The role is eligible for incentives in the form of stock options and/or long-term cash awards. Employees must be U.S. persons permitted to access export-controlled technology without an export license.

Requirements

B.S. in Materials Science, Metallurgical, Chemical, Mechanical, or a related engineering discipline, or demonstrated equivalent experience and expertise.
At least 6 years of materials and process engineering experience in aerospace, semiconductor, or another high-reliability industry.
Demonstrated record of developing and qualifying processes and materials for flight or safety-critical hardware, including first-article builds and compliance with industry standards such as AWS, AMS, or ASTM.
Experience authoring and releasing specifications, design guidance, acceptance criteria, and drawing callouts used by an organization and its suppliers.
Experience with thermal, chemical, mechanical, and NDE characterization, including interpreting results to define process windows.
Deep expertise in at least one of the following: ablatives and TPS; composites; polymers and adhesives; coatings and surface treatment; wet chemical processing and corrosion control; welding metallurgy; heat treat; additive; or NDE.
Experience with aerospace metals, including stainless steel, aluminum, titanium, and nickel alloys, and their processing, including heat treatment, welding and brazing, and finishing.
Experience with corrosion mechanisms such as galvanic, crevice, pitting, stress corrosion, and hydrogen embrittlement, and with chemical compatibility of materials with process fluids and service environments.
Experience developing and controlling wet chemical processes, including bath chemistry, rinse and water-quality requirements, precision cleaning, and cleanliness verification, and working with hazardous, reactive, or oxidizing fluids.
Proficiency in applied statistical methods, including DOE, SPC, process capability, measurement system analysis, regression, and statistical tolerancing; experience establishing statistically based material allowables, acceptance criteria, and sampling plans such as A-basis and B-basis.
Experience leading RCCAs, failure analysis, and material dispositions, including selecting and interpreting laboratory methods such as fractography, metallography, SEM/EDS, and chemical analysis, and leading cross-functional investigations.
Experience developing control plans and special processes and leading PFMEAs.
Experience setting materials and process requirements for the space environment, including outgassing and contamination control, electrical bonding and grounding, thermal cycling, and UV exposure.
Strong technical writing skills, including writing specifications, test reports, and investment cases.
Ability to make sound decisions quickly without established infrastructure, influence material decisions owned by other teams, and hire and mentor engineers.
Physical ability to regularly lift 25 lbs., bend, stoop, and stand for extended periods while working directly with flight hardware.
Must qualify as a U.S. person permitted to access the employer’s export-controlled technology without an export license.

Nice To Haves

M.S. or Ph.D. in Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, or a related discipline, or AMPP/NACE certification.
Experience with ablative, thermal protection, and thermal barrier materials for reentry, hypersonic, or propulsion applications, including arc-jet, thermal-conductivity, recession, and char-behavior characterization.
Experience with polymer and composite processing at scale, including cure-cycle development, cure kinetics, and void and porosity control.
Experience with spacecraft thermal-control and finishing systems, including MLI films, metallizations, anodize per MIL-A-8625, conversion coating per MIL-DTL-5541, plating, and fluoropolymer coatings, and their effects on bonding and outgassing.
Experience designing, qualifying, or specifying wet-process lines and high-purity water systems, including waste handling and EHS compliance.
Experience with high-test peroxide (HTP) systems, including compatibility classes, passivation and conditioning, stabilizer and contaminant effects, catalyst-bed materials, active-oxygen-loss testing, decomposition modeling, and diagnosing elevated decomposition or corrosion.
Experience with other strong oxidizers and hypergols, including LOX, N2O, N2O4/MON, and hydrazines; oxygen-service cleaning standards such as ASTM G93, G88, and IEST-STD-CC1246; and oxidizer-compatible polymers, elastomers, and lubricants such as PTFE, PCTFE, FKM/FFKM, PEEK, dry-film, and galling-resistant pairs.
Experience with pharmaceutical or bioprocess materials, including product-contact selection, ASME BPE, extractables and leachables, USP Class VI / ISO 10993, cleaning validation, and potent-compound containment.
Experience developing accelerated corrosion test programs and correlating results to service environments.
Experience with advanced statistical methods such as Bayesian, mixed-effects, Weibull, and Monte Carlo methods, and advanced characterization such as XRD, CT, and XPS.
Experience scaling processes to production build rates and qualifying and auditing special-process suppliers, such as NADCAP suppliers.
Experience building a materials and processes function, including an approved materials and processes list, materials usage agreement process, and in-house materials laboratory.
Recognized subject-matter expertise and a record of setting technical direction and standards beyond a single program, including cross-discipline chief-engineer or standards roles, publications, patents, or standards-committee participation.

Responsibilities

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 such as cleaning, etching, passivation, and conversion coating; 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; 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 requirements 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 activities, and failure review boards for material and process non-conformances, including corrosion, surface contamination, and defects identified through NDE, testing, or inspection.
Conduct or arrange failure analysis, including fractography, metallography, SEM/EDS, and chemical analysis, in-house or through partner laboratories.
Help establish Varda’s materials and processes function, including approved materials and processes lists, materials usage agreement processes, and in-house materials laboratory capability.
Make sound decisions quickly without established infrastructure, influence material decisions owned by other teams, and hire and mentor engineers.
Work directly with design engineers, technicians, and suppliers to incrementally improve vehicles and establish standards that support increased production cadence.