Senior Materials Expert (R&D/Engineering)

Amphenol and its Affiliated Companies•Endicott, NY

5d•$135,000 - $150,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Materials Expert provides technical leadership and specialized expertise in metallic and polymeric materials to support product design optimization, innovation, and next-generation product development. This role collaborates closely with engineering, simulation, testing, sourcing, and manufacturing teams to identify, evaluate, qualify, and implement materials that enhance product performance, reliability, manufacturability, and cost competitiveness. Serving as a key resource for material selection, failure analysis, and technology roadmap development, the Senior Materials Expert helps drive material innovation across the organization. This hybrid position requires a minimum of 25% travel, including visits to Endicott, NY, Binghamton University, and China.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Materials Science, Metallurgical Engineering, Polymer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field required.
Minimum 10+ years of experience in materials engineering or R&D, preferably supporting electromechanical or connector products.
Experience supporting product development from concept through qualification and production.
Strong knowledge of metals, polymers, elastomers, coatings, and material failure mechanisms.
Familiarity with material testing methods and relevant industry standards.
Experience with engineering documentation, specifications, and test reports.
Understanding of manufacturing processes including stamping, molding, machining, and plating preferred.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office; experience with CAD and PLM/PDM systems a plus.
Strong analytical, problem‑solving, and decision‑making skills.
Clear written and verbal communication skills.
Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast‑paced R&D environment.
Comfortable working across cultures and time zones.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree preferred.
Understanding of manufacturing processes including stamping, molding, machining, and plating.
Experience with CAD and PLM/PDM systems.

Responsibilities

Investigate, evaluate, and recommend metallic and polymeric materials, including copper alloys, stainless steels, aluminum alloys, engineering thermoplastics, thermosets, elastomers and rubber materials, along with coatings and surface treatments.
Identify materials that improve electrical, thermal, mechanical, and environmental performance of existing products.
Support development of next‑generation connector technologies through material innovation aligned with long‑term R&D roadmaps.
Stay current with emerging materials, processing technologies, and industry trends relevant to electrical interconnect systems.
Evaluate and compare candidate materials by analyzing electrical conductivity, thermal performance, mechanical strength, fatigue, wear, corrosion resistance, flammability, and environmental durability.
Assess manufacturability including compatibility with stamping, injection molding, machining, plating, and assembly processes.
Evaluate cost, supplier capability, availability, and supply‑chain risk.
Document material selection rationale, risks, and mitigation strategies to support design reviews, DFMEA, qualification, and customer requirements.
Work closely with analysis and simulation engineers (structural, thermal, mold flow) to ensure accurate material properties and assumptions are used in simulation models.
Support correlation between material data, simulation predictions, and physical test results to improve design confidence.
Support material‑related failure analysis and simulation‑driven design optimization.
Define material test plans and acceptance criteria to support product validation and qualification.
Support root cause analysis of test failures and field issues related to material behavior.
Collaborate with internal and external test laboratories to evaluate material performance under mechanical, thermal, electrical, and environmental conditions including working closely with Binghamton University laboratories for advanced material and product testing and characterization.
Review material specifications, test reports, qualification documentation, and engineering standards.
Partner with manufacturing teams to ensure robust and repeatable material and process implementation.
Support sourcing teams in evaluating new suppliers, qualifying alternate materials, and managing material changes.
Support ECNs, cost‑reduction initiatives, and global product transfers involving material or process changes.
Create and maintain a centralized engineering materials database for metals, plastics, elastomers, coatings, and surface treatments.
Ensure material data includes validated properties, processing guidelines, test results, qualifications, and application notes.
Standardize material data to support design, simulation, testing, sourcing, and manufacturing teams globally.
Collaborate with AI and digital engineering experts to help develop and train a materials‑focused engineering chatbot, enabling rapid access to approved material data, selection guidance, and lessons learned.
Collaborate with global engineering teams to align material strategies and best practices.
Communicate material recommendations clearly to technical and non‑technical stakeholders.
Provide mentoring and technical guidance on material selection, failure analysis, and performance.