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Senior Materials Engineer – Testing & Structural Materials

Aalo· Engineering
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Austin, TXfull-timePosted 1mo ago

About the role

Senior Materials Engineer to lead materials testing and structural materials degradation activities supporting the design, qualification, and operation of Aalo-X, with leadership focus on stainless steels and structural metallic materials, elevated temperature, sodium exposure, and irradiation effects.

Responsibilities

  • Lead Aalo-X materials testing programs for structural metallic materials, including development of baseline mechanical property data, elevated-temperature properties, sodium environmental knockdown factors, and irradiation effects.
  • Serve as the primary materials technical lead for stainless steels and structural material degradation, including reactor vessel and other safety-significant metallic components.
  • Define test matrices, specimen requirements, environmental conditions, acceptance criteria, and data-reduction approaches for internal and external materials testing campaigns.
  • Develop and maintain technically defensible material property datasets and correlations for use in mechanical design and engineering analyses.
  • Support mechanical and structural engineers in evaluating material degradation mechanisms, allowable properties, lifetime limits, and design margins.
  • Provide materials expertise for engineering analyses and safety evaluations, including degradation models and assumptions related to temperature, sodium exposure, irradiation, creep, fatigue, embrittlement, and other relevant aging mechanisms.
  • Support development of material and component qualification plans, including identification of required testing, analysis, pedigree, surveillance, and supporting technical evidence.
  • Support ASME Code evaluations and interactions associated with material selection, qualification, allowable properties, environmental effects, and component design.
  • Provide technical support for regulatory and authorization-basis activities involving materials performance and degradation.
  • Develop strategies for incorporating materials surveillance and irradiation testing into the Aalo-X design and operating program.
  • Plan and support irradiation campaigns, including specimen selection, exposure conditions, post-irradiation examination, and interpretation of irradiation-effects data.
  • Interface with national laboratories, universities, testing laboratories, material suppliers, and other external partners executing materials characterization and testing.
  • Review and disposition materials test results and translate experimental findings into actionable design guidance.
  • Support procurement specifications, material qualification requirements, and technical evaluations of structural metallic materials as needed.
  • Mentor and collaborate with other materials engineers and help build Aalo's broader materials testing and qualification capability.

Qualifications

  • - Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering, or a closely related field, or equivalent demonstrated technical experience.
  • - Experience with irradiated materials and post-irradiation examination.
  • - Knowledge of irradiation effects in stainless steels and other reactor structural alloys.
  • - Experience with elevated-temperature mechanical testing, creep, fatigue, fracture, or environmental effects testing.
  • - Demonstrated understanding of relationships between microstructure, mechanical properties, degradation mechanisms, and engineering performance.
  • - Experience developing or executing experimental materials programs and interpreting resulting data.
  • - Ability to work directly with design engineers and convert materials science into practical engineering requirements, properties, and design limits.
  • - Strong technical writing and communication skills.

Skills

Required:Materials testing program design and executionIrradiation effects and post-irradiation examinationHigh-temperature mechanical behavior
Nice to have:ASME Code knowledge

Benefits

  • Competitive salary based on technical level
  • Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance
  • Paid Time Off
  • Corporate Gym Membership
Last updated Sep 17, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.

About Aalo

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