Senior Materials and Process Engineer, Space

Anduril's Space team is dedicated to expanding our AI-powered capabilities into the final frontier, enhancing Space Domain Awareness, Space Control, and Command and Control for U.S. military and allied partners. We're developing fully integrated hardware and software systems, including Lattice for Space Missions and modular payloads, to address growing threats in space and ensure our Guardians maintain a decisive advantage in this contested war-fighting domain.

-Standards Development & Implementation

• Establish and maintain material and process standards, including banned/approved materials lists, common material coatings, common procedures (torque, bonding, cleaning, etc.), and corrosion prevention and control requirements
• Develop and advance hardware design standards and common parts libraries
• Create comprehensive technical documentation (standards, procedures, test reports, vendor specifications, etc.)

-Testing & Characterization

• Design and conduct testing to establish materials performance properties (off gassing characterization, thermal interface conductivity, insert strength, bond strength, etc.)
• Manage relationships with internal and external test laboratories for materials characterization and failure analysis
• Accelerate material evaluation, implementation, and qualification
• Select appropriate sensors and metrology equipment; oversee data acquisition and analysis

-Contamination Control

• Develop and manage contamination budgets across multiple space programs, balancing operational costs with performance risks
• Implement and monitor contamination controls in assembly, integration, and test (AI&T) environments including cleanrooms, thermal chambers, and TVAC facilities
• Establish contamination monitoring protocols and cleanliness verification procedures
• Have working knowledge of contamination control procedures and best practices for precision optics

-Material Selection and Design Support

• Collaborate with design engineers to select appropriate materials for spacecraft components
• Conduct material trade studies, evaluating performance against cost, manufacturability, and space environmental compatibility
• Understand how material selection affects the spacecraft subsystems including contamination of precision optics over the lifecycle of the spacecraft

-Cross-Program Leadership

• Use first principles as a basis for decisions. Continuously look for opportunities to simplify and standardize.
• Prioritize efforts across multiple concurrent programs based on technical risk and schedule impact
• Identify recurring issues and implement scalable solutions as the organization grows
• Lead failure reviews and root cause investigations, building consensus on corrective actions
• Lead material review boards and evaluate material waiver requests
• Review vendor and subcontractor designs for materials and contamination compliance; develop clear technical requirements

• BS in Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Chemistry, Physics, or related field
• 4+ years of hands-on experience with space hardware materials, processes, and contamination control including metallics and non-metallics
• Intimate familiarity with cleanroom classification levels, best practices, and operations
• Hands-on experience with spacecraft contamination control per IEST-STD-CC1246 or similar standards
• Familiarity with space industry standards (NASA-STD-6001, ECSS-Q-ST-70C, etc.)
• Proven experience establishing technical standards or specifications for hardware programs
• Strong foundation in materials science principles, including material properties, surface chemistry, and contamination mechanisms
• Demonstrated ability to design experiments, analyze data, and draw defensible engineering conclusions
• Self-directed work style with ability to define scope for ambiguous problems
• Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. security clearance

• 10+ years of materials and processes engineering experience on flight hardware programs
• Knowledge of manufacturing processes (bonding, heat treating, machining, coating, surface finishing, welding, composites, soldering, etc.)
• Proficiency in interpreting data from different material characterization techniques (FTIR, SEM, TGA, etc.)
• Understanding of space environment effects (charged particle radiation, UV exposure, atomic oxygen)
• Experience in adjacent high-reliability industries (aerospace, defense, semiconductor, medical devices)
• Experience with statistical analysis tools and design of experiments (DOE)