Materials Engineer, Polymers

SpaceX

4d

About The Position

SpaceX was founded under the belief that a future where humanity is out exploring the stars is fundamentally more exciting than one where we are not. Today SpaceX is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal of enabling human life on Mars.
MATERIALS ENGINEER, POLYMERS
SpaceX plans to revolutionize the launch market through the use of cutting-edge technologies which drive down cost and increase accessibility. Rapid and efficient reusability of a launch vehicle that experiences the most extreme of environments requires novel material systems to solve these difficult challenges. The Materials Engineer in this role will be hands-on tackling implementation and troubleshooting of polymer material systems on the world's most powerful launch vehicle ever developed.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in materials science, materials engineering, polymer science, chemistry, physics, or other engineering discipline
• Experience with characterizing, testing, and evaluating the performance of plastics, elastomers and adhesives

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree or PhD in materials science, materials engineering, polymer science, chemistry, physics, or other related engineering fields
• Strong interpersonal and collaborative skills with enthusiasm for the team’s spirit of innovation in cutting-edge technology
• Experience in polymer characterization techniques and equipment, including SEM-EDS, FTIR, DSC, TGA, LFA, DMA, TMA, rheometry, optical microscopy, mechanical property testing
• Familiarity with industry specifications for adhesives, sealants, coatings, structural plastics, and other non-metallic materials
• Demonstrated track record of success in a fast-paced and highly competitive environment
• Strong ability to work autonomously, communicate well and have extreme ownership for areas of responsibility
• Diverse knowledge of aerospace quality polymeric / elastomeric materials and their processing
• Broad understanding of failure modes in polymer materials
• Experience with technical review of polymer processing and understanding interaction between process variables and resultant material performance

Responsibilities

• Own implementation and scale-up of novel polymer material systems used on Starship hardware
• Provide guidance to engineering and production teams on materials selection, testing and analysis of adhesives, sealants, coatings, and other non-metallic materials
• Generate and maintain design for manufacturing requirements for these materials and their application processes used to build Starship
• Coordinate and execute qualification testing of polymer material systems
• Support root cause failure investigations as a subject matter expert for adhesive/rubber/plastic failure mechanisms
• Partner with engineering and production teams to generate ideas for material and process improvements on current and next-generation vehicles
• Develop and maintain application process specifications for these materials

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees