Materials Manufacturing Innovation Engineer

Formlabs•Somerville, MA

About The Position

Formlabs is seeking a Materials Manufacturing Innovation Engineer to invent and develop new ways to manufacture specialty materials at scale. The role is part of the R&D team, which creates materials for 3D printing, and focuses on developing production processes that improve quality, reduce cost, increase throughput, or enable materials that cannot be made with current methods. This is an innovation-focused role rather than traditional process engineering: the engineer will establish proof-of-concept pilot processes, develop mixing and dispersion approaches, and create control systems to detect quality issues early. The engineer will take concepts from initial ideas and bench experiments through prototype equipment and pilot runs, then build a business case for production deployment. They will work closely with R&D so that new materials and the methods used to manufacture them are developed together, evaluate outside technologies, and transition validated innovations to plant teams with documentation and training. The role requires demonstrating at least one new manufacturing technology at bench or pilot scale and presenting a clear case for production.

Requirements

At least 4 years of industry experience building new manufacturing technology in chemicals, coatings, adhesives, inks, pharmaceuticals, advanced materials, or a similar field.
A track record of introducing manufacturing methods that have affected product quality, cost, or throughput.
Strong grounding in materials manufacturing science, including mixing, heat and mass transfer, and rheology of viscous or filled fluids.
Ability to move from first-principles thinking to bench prototypes and pilot runs.
Experience using designed experiments and data to evaluate ideas and build a business case for deployment.
Strong communication skills with cross-functional stakeholders.
BS, MS, or PhD in chemical engineering, materials science, mechanical engineering, polymer science, or a related field.

Nice To Haves

Experience with continuous manufacturing or process intensification.
Experience with inline sensors, process analytical technology (PAT), or chemometrics.
Machine learning or AI applied to manufacturing data.
Experience with UV-curable or other photoreactive materials.
Polymer powder handling, for future SLS materials work.
Modeling, automation, or data tools such as Python, COMSOL, or PLC/DCS.

Responsibilities

Develop an innovation roadmap identifying manufacturing technologies that could improve quality, reduce cost, increase throughput, or enable new materials.
Develop new manufacturing approaches from concept through bench experiments, prototype equipment, pilot runs, and a business case for deployment.
Co-invent manufacturing methods with R&D so new materials and their production processes are designed together.
Scout existing technologies that can improve manufacturing cost, throughput, or quality, and bring promising ideas into Formlabs.
Transition proven innovations to the plant team with documentation and training.
Demonstrate at least one new manufacturing technology at bench or pilot scale and establish a clear case for production.