Aerospace Materials Engineer

Aerospace Mid-level (L4 equivalent) 2-5 years

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SpaceX

Boeing

Lockheed Martin

Blue Origin

Northrop Grumman

Rocket Lab

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The job description

Tech stack. Materials testing (tensile, fatigue, fracture), microscopy (SEM), spectroscopy, composite cure monitoring, MMPDS/CMH-17 references, Python/MATLAB

About the role

You will join the materials engineering team of an aerospace company responsible for selecting, qualifying, and sustaining the materials in every flight structure. The team owns material allowables, process specifications, and failure investigations. This role matters because every stress analysis in the company rests on the allowables you generate, and a material or process escape can ground a fleet, so your rigor protects both the design and the flying public. You will be the detective the program calls when something breaks, corrodes, or behaves unexpectedly, and your laboratory skills will turn failed hardware into understood root causes. Your material selections will balance performance against manufacturing variability, long-term environmental exposure, and the supply chain's ability to deliver consistent quality. You will write specifications that suppliers can actually meet and verify, with acceptance criteria tied to engineering requirements rather than copied from previous programs. You will maintain the company's materials memory: the database of test results, equivalency justifications, and lessons learned that prevents each program from relearning what the last one discovered.

What you will achieve

Deliver qualified material systems (alloys, composites, or adhesives) with statistically based allowables per CMH-17 or MMPDS methods
Cut material qualification timelines by 25 percent through smart test matrices and equivalency approaches accepted by authorities
Own process specifications for heat treat, bonding, or composite cure with process controls that hold Cpk above 1.67
Drive failure investigations to root cause: fractography, metallography, and corrective actions that prevent recurrence
Ship material review board dispositions balancing airworthiness, schedule, and cost with documented engineering rationale
Reduce material-related nonconformances by tightening process specifications with statistically validated controls and supplier audits

What you will bring

Must-haves

2 to 5 years of experience in aerospace materials engineering, metallurgy, or composites roles
Strong understanding of metallic alloy systems (aluminum, titanium, steels, superalloys) or polymer composites
Experience with mechanical testing: tensile, fatigue, fracture toughness, and environmental conditioning
Working knowledge of allowables development: B-basis statistics per CMH-17 or MMPDS
Familiarity with NDT methods: ultrasonic, radiography, thermography, and their limitations
Ability to write material and process specifications with clear acceptance criteria
Failure analysis skills: fractography, SEM/EDS interpretation, and structured root-cause methods

Nice-to-haves

Experience with additive manufacturing materials qualification
Knowledge of corrosion mechanisms and protection schemes for aerospace environments
Exposure to fastener and joint allowables testing
Understanding of flammability and toxicity requirements for cabin materials
Experience with hydrogen embrittlement or stress corrosion cracking investigations