Principal Materials Engineer

Solar Turbines•San Diego, CA

6d•Onsite

About The Position

This position, in the Materials & Process Engineering department, provides a variety of challenging opportunities working on alloys and coatings used in gas turbines including but not limited to conducting forensic investigation and root cause assessment for Solar’s product failure investigations, lead new material and process development programs, actively participate in product problem resolution projects, develop and qualify new suppliers, new product development programs and lead any manufacturing process development/changes that impact material properties and performance. The position will report to the group manager of Materials & Process Engineering. This position is in our San Diego headquarters. This position is cross-functional in nature and requires strong interaction with Solar's design engineering, supply chain, manufacturing, and customer services organizations. Principal responsibilities include providing technical expertise in metallurgy and thermomechanical processing of turbomachinery alloys with emphasis on superalloys. Responsibilities include turbine hot section materials development and selection, source qualification of internal and external component suppliers, evaluation of new and overhaul manufacturing technologies, ownership of related engineering specifications, and failure analysis. The successful candidate is expected to document all their work in various formal reports and support developing processes and technologies required to achieve greater efficiency, cost reduction and quality improvement.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Material Science, Materials Engineering, or equivalent
6+ years of related industry experience
Working knowledge of physical and mechanical metallurgy, characterization techniques, and thermomechanical processing
Knowledge in materials processes such as heat treatment, forging, casting and welding
Able to interpret engineering drawings
Knowledgeable in the use and application of engineering analysis techniques
Effective written and oral communication skills

Nice To Haves

An advanced degree in Materials Engineering or related field is preferred
Ability to concurrently manage projects with varied complexity
Demonstrated leadership and change management proficiencies
Prior experience in operational roles, Lean – Six Sigma, and Agile will be beneficial
A good technical knowledge of the materials used in gas turbines
Experience with steel and iron-based alloys including melt practices, processing, and testing
Experience with superalloy investment casting, including single crystal castings, and materials life prediction methodologies
Familiar with standard gas turbine manufacturing, quality, design, and analysis methods
Experience performing failure analysis of metallic components, preferably those used in turbomachinery equipment
Knowledge of coatings for additive manufacturing processes

Responsibilities

Conducting forensic investigation and root cause assessment for Solar’s product failure investigations
Lead new material and process development programs
Actively participate in product problem resolution projects
Develop and qualify new suppliers
New product development programs
Lead any manufacturing process development/changes that impact material properties and performance
Providing technical expertise in metallurgy and thermomechanical processing of turbomachinery alloys with emphasis on superalloys
Turbine hot section materials development and selection
Source qualification of internal and external component suppliers
Evaluation of new and overhaul manufacturing technologies
Ownership of related engineering specifications
Failure analysis
Document all their work in various formal reports
Support developing processes and technologies required to achieve greater efficiency, cost reduction and quality improvement