← All roles

Senior Materials and Process Engineer, Space

Anduril· AFS : Space Engineering
Apply on company site
Costa Mesa, CA$132k - $198kFull-timePosted 7mo ago

About the role

Senior-level materials and process engineer role focused on standards, testing, contamination control, EEE/PCBA oversight, material selection, and cross-program leadership within Anduril's Space team.

Responsibilities

  • Maintain material and process standards, including banned/approved materials lists, common material coatings, common procedures, and corrosion prevention and control requirements
  • Develop and advance hardware design standards and common parts libraries
  • Support comprehensive technical documentation (standards, procedures, test reports, vendor specifications, etc.)
  • Design and conduct testing to establish materials performance properties.
  • Manage relationships with internal and external test laboratories for materials characterization and failure analysis
  • Accelerate material evaluation, implementation, and qualification
  • Select appropriate characterization equipment; oversee data acquisition and analysis
  • 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
  • Apply working knowledge of contamination control procedures and best practices for precision optics
  • Develop and maintain EEE parts selection and qualification requirements across programs
  • Define PCBA process specifications including soldering, conformal coating, staking, rework, and inspection criteria
  • Evaluate tin whisker and lead-free solder risks on commercial parts; develop mitigation strategies
  • Support avionics qualification, test planning and execution
  • 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
  • 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
  • Support failure reviews and root cause investigations, building consensus on corrective actions
  • Support material review boards and evaluate material waiver requests
  • Review vendor and subcontractor designs for materials and contamination compliance; develop clear technical requirements

Qualifications

  • BS in Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Chemistry, Physics, or related field
  • 3+ years of hands-on experience with space hardware materials and processes
  • 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
  • U.S. citizenship required

Skills

Required:Materials science fundamentalsExperiment design and data analysisContamination controlStandards development
Nice to have:EEE parts selection & PCBA oversight

Benefits

  • Comprehensive, competitive benefits package (health, recovery, and more) available to full-time employees
Last updated Oct 14, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.

About Anduril

defense-aero-and-safetyliquid-ai-recruiting-targetsetter-30setter-30-2026-q1wing-list-2026wing-list-2026-giga-stage
Company profileWebsite

More open roles at Anduril