Senior Materials & Processes Technical Specialist

Relativity Space•Long Beach, CA

13h

About The Position

At Relativity Space, we’re building rockets to serve today’s needs and tomorrow’s breakthroughs. Our Terran R vehicle will deliver customer payloads to orbit, meeting the growing demand for launch capacity. But that’s just the start. Achieving commercial success with Terran R will unlock new opportunities to advance science, exploration, and innovation, pioneering progress that reaches beyond the known. Joining Relativity means becoming part of something where autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level. Here, you're not just executing tasks; you're solving problems that haven’t been solved before, helping develop a rocket, a factory, and a business from the ground up. Whether you’re in propulsion, manufacturing, software, avionics, or a corporate function, you’ll collaborate across teams, shape decisions, and see your work come to life in record time. Relativity is a place where creativity and technical rigor go hand in hand, and your voice will help define the stories we’re writing together. Now is a unique moment in time where it’s early enough to leave your mark on the product, the process, and the culture, but far enough along that Terran R is tangible and picking up momentum. The most meaningful work of your career is waiting. Join us. About the Team: The Materials and NDE (Non-Destructive Evaluation) team plays a central role in enabling Terran R to fly, re-fly, and scale: developing, characterizing, and inspecting materials and processes across all parts of the vehicle. From welding and additive manufacturing to advanced composites, the team works at the intersection of innovation and execution, balancing performance and reliability with cost, quality, and schedule. As we move toward first flight and beyond, the challenges become more exciting, offering opportunities to shape how we design and develop for re-use. With ownership across products, systems, and disciplines, engineers gain broad exposure and drive key decisions across design, manufacturing, and operations. About the Role: Support core lab operations including M&P prototyping, test coupon design and fabrication, and test development and documentation Serve as the subject matter expert for troubleshooting challenges related to material processing, machining, and testing Share hands-on knowledge and deep technical insights to drive problem resolution across the team Mentor and train new team members on skills, processes, and standards of execution Advise and assist the program manager on day-to-day lab operations Contribute as a senior member of the Materials Discovery team to ensure overall mission success

Requirements

An Associate’s Degree in Natural Science, Materials, or related field
10+ years of hands-on experience in aerospace high temperature materials processing and testing
Self-starter with a strong ability to learn quickly and a passion for solving complex technical problems
Proficient in operating machine tooling to fabricate complex test samples and hardware parts, including CNC mills (Prototrack), lathes, vertical saws, drill presses, shears, and sandblasters, as well as hand-powered tools such as dremels, grinders, and sanders
Skilled in composite panel layup fabrication and surface preparation techniques
Experienced in advanced heatshield composite processing and machining

Nice To Haves

Skilled in designing 3D drawings prototypes (DXF and STF files), SPACECLAIM design, AutoCAD, NX, Team Center and Warp Drive, RTD installation, surface prepping, Microsoft Office, Excel, Bilingual, forklift operator
Capable of operating thermal, mechanical and chemical testing instruments such as DSC, LFA, TGA, Dilatometer and Instron load frames to perform high precision testing

Responsibilities

Support core lab operations including M&P prototyping, test coupon design and fabrication, and test development and documentation
Serve as the subject matter expert for troubleshooting challenges related to material processing, machining, and testing
Share hands-on knowledge and deep technical insights to drive problem resolution across the team
Mentor and train new team members on skills, processes, and standards of execution
Advise and assist the program manager on day-to-day lab operations
Contribute as a senior member of the Materials Discovery team to ensure overall mission success