At Relativity Space, we have two audacious goals: to build the next great commercial launch company with Terran R and to become America's leading force in additive manufacturing innovation. Both contribute to our long-term vision of creating humanity’s industrial base on Mars, paving the way for interplanetary life to expand the possibilities of the human experience. This journey begins right here on Earth – where we design, build, and fly rockets to deliver customer payloads to orbit. Terran R, our medium-to-heavy lift reusable rocket, fulfills the growing demand for launch capacity, thanks to our iterative approach that accelerates design, testing, and development while minimizing costs. While our groundbreaking research and development in 3D printing pushes the boundaries of large-scale additive manufacturing.
Your journey with us is more than just a job – it’s an opportunity to shape the future of aerospace technology, additive manufacturing, and the human experience alongside a community of passionate, creative individuals. Join us on this extraordinary journey, as we work together to transform our vision into reality.
About the Team:
The Materials & NDE Engineering team is responsible for the development, characterization, and inspection of materials across the Terran R launch vehicle. We specialize in rapid implementation of material systems through robust internal testing capabilities and first principles driven qualification approaches. We have recently made our first primary structure barrel, supported introduction of next generation powder additive alloys in the Aeon-R engine, and developed 100% in-cell NDE inspection capabilities for WAAM manufactured hardware.
About the Role:
- Be the M&P owner of reusable Liquid Propulsion Materials Systems, Disciplines, and Products
- Qualify materials for flight + reuse, with a focus on AM technologies such as laser powder bed fusion and associated post-print processes
- Develop, implement, and maintain technical specifications and engineering standards
- Drive statistically-driven experimental design and process improvement campaigns
- Interface with:
- Materials engineering staff to identify, define, and fill critical technology gaps
- Laboratory staff to characterize materials and processes
- Propulsion Designers to support materials selection, allowables development, analysis, qualification, flight, and reuse
- Process/MFG engineering to iterate on processes that form our materials, troubleshooting issues, and enabling reduction of cost + rate while maintaining needed performance
- Quality assurance to facilitate specification compliance validation
- Product engineering to perform failure analysis and root cause and corrective action campaigns
- Relativity + Customer Fracture Control Boards to achieve vehicle reuse
- Leadership to elevate risks and overcome roadblocks
About You:
- Bachelor’s degree in materials science or engineering, or related field
- 5+ years of relevant materials experience
- Experience with general propulsion hardware M&P activities, such as material selection, qualification, and failure analysis
- Experience performing material and part qualifications for laser powder bed fusion systems or similar AM technologies
- A core commitment to accountability, collaboration, and execution
- A desire to establish and foster strong interdisciplinary relationships across the company
- An authentic, introspective, and inclusive mindset towards technical, interpersonal, and team growth and development
- Passion to work in a fast-paced and challenging environment on constantly iterating products + processes, driving big impact on critical engine program needs
Nice to haves, but not required:
- Expertise in nickel, copper, ferrous, or titanium alloy systems
- Deep understanding of liquid propulsion engine systems and the materials challenges that arise within them
- Metallic additive process M&P experience in Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF), Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM), Laser Powder Direct Energy Deposition (LP-DED), Cold Spray, etc.
- Metallic fusion welding M&P experience in Laser Welding, GTAW, GMAW, etc.
- Metallic wrought, forging, or casting M&P experience
- Knowledge of surface modification processes and coatings relevant to reusable propulsion applications
- Solid background in statistical experimental design and design allowable calculation methodology
- Leveling is flexible – please see other posting levels for expectations
At Relativity Space, we are committed to transparency and fairness in our compensation practices. Actual compensation will be determined based on experience, qualifications, and other job-related factors.
Compensation is only one part of our total rewards package. Relativity Space offers competitive salary and equity, a generous PTO and sick leave policy, parental leave, an annual learning and development stipend, and more! To see some of the benefits & perks we offer, please visit here.
We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.
Top Skills
Relativity Space Long Beach, California, USA Office
We have two sites in Long Beach, CA's Space Beach: "The Wormhole," a 1M sq. ft. factory, once Boeing C-17's home. Nearby, "The Portal" supports Aeon R engine production for our Terran R launch vehicle.
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