Materials Engineer Co-op

Novelis•Kennesaw, GA

43d•Onsite

About The Position

The Global Beverage Packaging team, located in Kennesaw, GA, is seeking a Co-op Materials Engineer. This role is responsible for conducting metallurgical investigation of Beverage Packaging samples produced in varied lab-scale processes to reflect full-scale coil behavior. By comparing lab-scale analysis results with production coil data, the engineer will identify optimal lab process parameters that improve the data reliability and successfully reduce costly full trials. This co-op starts May 2026 and ends December 2026.

Requirements

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Materials Science, Metallurgical Engineering, or a related field.
Basic understanding of physical metallurgy, including phase transformations and microstructure-property relationships.
Familiarity with basic laboratory equipment and techniques such as optical and electron microscopies and thermal processing.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with attention to detail in experimental design and data interpretation.
Effective written and verbal communication skills for documenting results and collaborating across teams.

Nice To Haves

Prior experience in materials testing, alloy development, or process engineering.
Familiarity with aluminum alloy metallurgy, especially 5xxx and 3xxx series alloys.
Experience with advanced characterization techniques such as Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), and other high-resolution analytical methods for microstructural and phase analysis.
Working knowledge of data analysis tools (e.g., Excel, MATLAB, Python) to support interpretation of experimental data.
Ability to work independently in a lab setting and manage multiple experimental tasks efficiently.

Responsibilities

Plan and conduct lab-scale design-of-experiments and analyze resulting microstructures and properties.
Vary process parameters systematically to assess their impact on material behavior.
Compare lab-scale results with full coil data to identify discrepancies and possible correlations.
Analyze microstructural and mechanical properties using appropriate characterization techniques.
Establish optimal lab scale process conditions that most accurately reflect full scale coil characteristics.
Document findings and distribute to R&D teams at various regions and functions.
Collaborate effectively with lab teams to enable insightful analysis.
Maintain lab equipment and ensure safe, efficient operation during testing.