Senior Materials & Joining Engineer
About The Position
We are a Southern California contract manufacturer specializing in the joining of dissimilar materials via brazing. This is a hands-on, highly technical role for an engineer who lives and breathes joining processes, someone who can serve as the resident subject matter expert on our floor, drive R&D projects from prototype through serial production and bring the depth of knowledge our work demands. We are specifically seeking a candidate whose core expertise is in materials science and joining technologies, brazing first and foremost, with the credibility to lead, advise, and mentor on the production floor and in customer-facing technical discussions.
Requirements
- 8–12 years of experience in materials joining engineering, with brazing as a primary area of expertise
- Demonstrated hands-on experience with brazing of dissimilar material combinations (metals, ceramics, or composites)
- Deep understanding of filler metals, flux systems, atmosphere furnace brazing, and torch/induction brazing processes
- Proficiency in reading and interpreting engineering drawings per ASME Y14.5 (GD&T)
- Experience taking joining processes from prototype or R&D phase into repeatable serial production
- Strong root cause analysis and corrective action skills (you've diagnosed real joint failures under production pressure)
- Ability to communicate technical concepts clearly to non-engineers, customers, and production personnel
Nice To Haves
- Experience with aerospace, defense, or high-reliability manufacturing environments
- Familiarity with AMS, AWS, or MIL-spec brazing standards
- Background with dissimilar metal combinations such as stainless-to-copper, titanium-to-ceramic, or similar
- AWS Certified Brazing Engineer (CBE) or equivalent credential
- Experience supporting AS9100 or NADCAP quality systems
- Working knowledge of PFMEA, control plans, and APQP processes
Responsibilities
- Serve as the on-site subject matter expert for all brazing and dissimilar material joining operations
- Develop, document, and optimize brazing procedures for production and new program introduction
- Define filler metal selection, flux selection, atmosphere/temperature profiles, and fixturing approaches
- Troubleshoot joint failures, porosity, wetting issues, and thermal distortion; root cause to corrective action
- Maintain and expand internal brazing process knowledge base
- Lead new joining process development from feasibility through production readiness
- Define process qualification criteria and execute first article / process validation activities
- Drive PFMEA, control plans, and process documentation for new programs
- Partner with quality and operations to ensure processes are repeatable, measurable, and manufacturable at rate
- Identify and close gaps between prototype intent and production reality, early and often
- Review customer drawings and specifications for DFM and producibility relative to brazing and joining operations
- Identify and escalate tolerance stack-ups, joint accessibility issues, and material incompatibilities at the quoting stage
- Communicate design intent clearly across engineering, quality, and production teams
- Mentor younger engineers on GD&T interpretation and the relationship between design intent and joining process outcomes
- Provide technical guidance to production floor teams on joining processes and quality standards
- Support customer technical reviews, PPAP activities, and supplier qualification efforts
- Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives tied to yield, throughput, and scrap reduction
- Help build and formalize the site's technical capability via documenting what has historically existed only as tribal knowledge
Benefits
- Health benefits
- 401(k) retirement savings program with company match
- PTO
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
Education Level
No Education Listed
