Materials R&D Engineer

Atomos Systems • Boulder, CO

10d

About The Position

We’re looking for a hands-on Materials R&D Engineer to develop and validate materials, interfaces, and fabrication approaches for a novel electrostatic actuator platform. The role combines creative experimental design, first-principles calculations, and practical lab work. As an early hire, you will directly shape the materials choices and development strategy.

Requirements

• At least 3 years of hands-on experimental R&D in materials science, applied physics, or a related engineering field.
• Strong materials science fundamentals, including surface interactions, wetting, adhesion, dielectric behavior, and mechanical properties.
• Practical experience with thin films, surface treatments, eutectic metal solder, polymers, or microfabrication.
• Ability to independently design experiments, build apparatus, select measurement techniques, and interpret results.
• Comfort using calculations and quantitative data analysis to evaluate ideas and prioritize experiments.
• Strong problem-solving abilities with a first-principles approach to complex challenges.
• Clear communication and strong ownership in a startup setting.
• Genuine enthusiasm for robotics and physically intelligent systems.
• A builder mindset, including rapid iteration, learning from failure, and shipping real hardware.

Responsibilities

• Identify key uncertainties, make first-principles estimates, and devise creative experiments to test ideas and guide design decisions.
• Investigate liquid-metal interfaces, surface coatings, thin dielectrics, and bonding methods, connecting material properties to actuator performance.
• Prepare samples, build test fixtures, and collaborate with the microfabrication team to turn concepts into working demonstrations.
• Develop repeatable measurements of electrical, mechanical, and surface behavior; analyze data, investigate failure modes, and iterate.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed