Senior Materials & Processes Engineer, Propulsion

At Relativity Space, we're building rockets to serve today's needs and tomorrow's breakthroughs. Our Terran R vehicle will deliver customer payloads to orbit, meeting the growing demand for launch capacity. But that's just the start. Achieving commercial success with Terran R will unlock new opportunities to advance science, exploration, and innovation, pioneering progress that reaches beyond the known.

Joining Relativity means becoming part of something where autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level. Here, you're not just executing tasks; you're solving problems that haven't been solved before, helping develop a rocket, a factory, and a business from the ground up. Whether you're in propulsion, manufacturing, software, avionics, or a corporate function, you'll collaborate across teams, shape decisions, and see your work come to life in record time. Relativity is a place where creativity and
technical rigor go hand in hand, and your voice will help define the stories we're writing together. Now is a unique moment in time where it's early enough to leave your mark on the product, the process, and the culture, but far enough along that Terran R is tangible and picking up momentum. The most meaningful work of your career is waiting. Join us.

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.

Hiring Range:

$133,000-$170,500 USD

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.