Materials and Process Engineer

About This Role

As a Principal Materials and Process Engineer at Varda, you will have the opportunity to set the technical direction for materials and processes across the company as we scale from a few bespoke vehicles to many consistent, concurrent builds. This role is the recognized subject-matter expert for the special processes used on flight hardware, including ablative and thermal protection systems (TPS), coatings, polymers, composites, adhesives, wet chemical processing, corrosion control, and metallic structures. The Principal Materials and Process Engineer defines the standards, specifications, process qualifications, and control plans that Varda and its suppliers build to, and leads RCCAs, MRB, and failure investigations for the most critical material and process non-conformances. You will make sound decisions quickly without established infrastructure, influence material decisions owned by other teams, and hire and mentor engineers. You will also help build Varda's materials and processes function, including approved materials and processes lists, materials usage agreement processes, and in-house materials lab capability. Materials and Process Engineers are a vital part of increasing Varda's build cadence, working directly with design engineers, technicians, and suppliers across the full range of materials and processes required to manufacture our vehicles. The focus of the job is to implement incremental improvement for every vehicle Varda produces while establishing the standards that let the whole organization scale.

Responsibilities

• Develop, qualify, and maintain special processes for flight hardware, including ablative and thermal protection systems (TPS), coatings, polymers, composites, adhesives, and processes applicable to metallic structures

• Develop and control wet chemical processes (cleaning, etching, passivation, conversion coating and similar).

• Implement corrosion prevention and control practices, and assess chemical compatibility between materials, process fluids, and service environments

• Design experiments, methodologies, and pathfinder hardware to de-risk processes, and characterize materials and processes through mechanical, thermal, chemical, and microstructural testing, and use statistical methods to define process windows

• Define tooling, fixture, test equipment, cleanliness, contamination control, and material handling requirements for assigned processes and flight hardware

• Develop and maintain Special Process Specifications, Process Qualification and Validation Records and Control Plans

• Lead and contribute to RCCAs, MRB and failure review boards for material and process non-conformances, including corrosion, surface contamination, defects found in NDE, test, or inspection, failure analysis (fractography, metallography, SEM/EDS, chemical analysis) in-house or through partner labs.

Basic Qualifications

• B.S. in Materials Science, Metallurgical, Chemical, Mechanical, or a related engineering discipline, or demonstrated equivalent experience and expertise.

• 6+ years of process and materials engineering experience in aerospace, semiconductor or another high-reliability industry.

• Demonstrated record of developing and qualifying processes and materials for flight or safety-critical hardware, including first article builds and compliance with industry standards (AWS, AMS, ASTM or similar).

• Experience authoring and releasing specifications, design guidance, acceptance criteria, and drawing callouts used by an organization and its suppliers.

• Experience with thermal, chemical, mechanical, and NDE characterization, including interpreting results to define process windows.

• Deep expertise in at least one area (ablatives and TPS, composites, polymers and adhesives, coatings and surface treatment, wet chemical processing and corrosion control, welding metallurgy, heat treat, additive, or NDE).

• Experience with aerospace metals (stainless steel, aluminum, titanium, nickel alloys) and their processing, including heat treatment, welding and brazing, and finishing.

• Experience with corrosion mechanisms (galvanic, crevice, pitting, stress corrosion, hydrogen embrittlement) and chemical compatibility of materials with process fluids and service environments.

• Experience developing and controlling wet chemical processes, including bath chemistry, rinse and water quality requirements, precision cleaning and cleanliness verification, and work with hazardous, reactive, or oxidizing fluids.

• Proficiency in applied statistical methods (DOE, SPC, process capability, measurement system analysis, regression, statistical tolerancing), including establishing statistically based material allowables, acceptance criteria, and sampling plans (e.g., A-basis and B-basis).

• Experience leading RCCAs, failure analysis, and material dispositions, including selecting and interpreting lab methods (fractography, metallography, SEM/EDS, chemical analysis) and leading cross-functional investigations.

• Experience developing control plans, special processes, and leading PFMEAs.

• Experience setting M&P requirements for the space environment, including outgassing and contamination control, electrical bonding and grounding, thermal cycling, and UV exposure.

• Strong technical writing, including specifications, test reports, and investment cases

• Ability to make sound decisions quickly without established infrastructure, influence material decisions owned by other teams, and hire and mentor engineers

• Must be physically able to regularly lift 25 lbs., bend, stoop, and stand for extended periods while working directly with flight hardware

Preferred Skills and Experience

• M.S. or Ph.D. in Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, or a related discipline, or AMPP/NACE certification

• Experience with ablative, thermal protection, and thermal barrier materials for reentry, hypersonic, or propulsion applications, including characterization (arc jet, thermal conductivity, recession, char behavior)

• Experience with polymer and composite processing at scale (cure cycle development, cure kinetics, void and porosity control)

• Experience with spacecraft thermal control and finishing systems (MLI films, metallizations, anodize per MIL-A-8625, conversion coating per MIL-DTL-5541, plating, fluoropolymer coatings) and their effects on bonding and outgassing

• Experience designing, qualifying, or specifying wet process lines and high-purity water systems, including waste handling and environmental, health, and safety (EHS) compliance

• Experience with high-test peroxide (HTP) systems, including compatibility classes, passivation and conditioning, stabilizer and contaminant effects, catalyst bed materials, active-oxygen-loss testing, decomposition modeling, and diagnosing elevated decomposition or corrosion (propellant assay, trace-metal analysis)

• Experience with other strong oxidizers and hypergols (LOX, N2O, N2O4/MON, hydrazines), including oxygen-service cleaning standards (ASTM G93, G88, IEST-STD-CC1246) and oxidizer-compatible polymers, elastomers, and lubricants (PTFE, PCTFE, FKM/FFKM, PEEK, dry-film, galling-resistant pairs)

• Experience with pharmaceutical or bioprocess materials (product-contact selection, ASME BPE, extractables and leachables, USP Class VI / ISO 10993, cleaning validation, potent-compound containment)

• Experience developing accelerated corrosion test programs and correlating results to service environments

• Experience with advanced statistical methods (Bayesian, mixed-effects, Weibull, Monte Carlo) and advanced characterization (XRD, CT, XPS)

• Experience scaling processes to production build rates and qualifying and auditing special-process suppliers (NADCAP or similar)

• Experience building a process and materials function, including an approved materials and processes list, a materials usage agreement process, and an in-house materials lab.

• Recognized subject-matter expertise, with a record of setting technical direction and standards beyond a single program, including cross-discipline chief-engineer or standards roles, publications, patents, or standards-committee participation

Pay Range

• Salary Range: $181,913 - $262,763/per year

• This role is on-site in El Segundo, CA

• Leveling and base salary is determined by job-related skills, education level, experience level, and job performance

• You will be eligible for incentives in the form of stock options and/or long-term cash awards