Lead Materials & Processes Engineer, Stage

Posted 5 Hours Ago
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Long Beach, CA
In-Office
144K-176K Annually
Mid level
Aerospace • Hardware • Robotics • Software • Manufacturing
Building reusable rockets to empower science and exploration.
The Role
Lead the Stage Materials & Processes team to develop, qualify, and support primary structures, mechanisms, and fluid systems. Define team goals, drive technical strategy, coordinate across design, manufacturing, NDE, quality, and supply chain, resolve manufacturing issues, and support budgeting and hiring while fostering a high-performing, inclusive culture.
Summary Generated by Built In

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:

  • Lead the Stage Materials and Processes Engineering team as the accountable M&P leader for development, design, manufacturing, and reuse of Relativity’s primary structures, mechanisms, and fluid systems products
  • Define team expectations, roles & responsibilities, goals, priorities, and communication channels
  • Collaborate with key stage partner teams and leaders across the product lifecycle: designers, analysts, METLab, weld, NDE, manufacturing, quality, and supply chain
  • Drive technical direction and strategy for Stage M&P, continuously providing feedback to the team and key partners
  • Fight to keep Terran-R on track through manufacturing dispositions, appropriate risk mitigation, and root cause/corrective action
  • Set the bar for both leadership and technical excellence across the team
  • Support annual operating plan and organizational activities (budget, headcount, staffing)
  • Foster an empathetic, supportive, accountable, honest, and communicative team culture

About You:

  • Bachelor’s degree in materials science or engineering, or related field
  • 4+ years of relevant materials & process engineering experience
  • Experience with general materials and processes activities such as M&P qualification, failure analysis, experimental design, and allowables development
  • Demonstrated ability to lead with technical excellence, empathy and inclusivity across a diverse team
  • Accountable, collaborative, and biased towards action

Nice to haves but not required:  

  • Experience across the entire launch vehicle programmatic lifecycle
  • Experience with all stage products (primary structures, mechanisms, and fluid systems)
  • Experience across all stage materials and processes (aluminum, nickel-based, stainless steel, FSW, arc fusion welding, structural composites, etc)
  • Experience with all stage M&P engineering disciplines (fatigue and damage tolerance, corrosion, tribology, oxygen compatibility, etc)

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:
$144,000$176,000 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.

If you need a reasonable accommodation, please contact us at [email protected].


Top Skills

Arc Fusion Welding
Friction Stir Welding (Fsw)
Nde
Powder Additive Alloys
Structural Composites
Waam
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The Company
HQ: Long Beach, CA
2,200 Employees
Year Founded: 2016

What We Do

Relativity Space is on a mission to better connect humanity to space and the universe beyond our planet. Our medium-to-heavy lift reusable rocket, Terran R, 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.

Why Work With Us

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.

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Relativity Space Offices

OnSite Workspace

At Relativity Space, we are an office-first company. We believe our best work happens in person—where collaboration is faster, problem-solving is sharper, and ideas flow more freely.

Typical time on-site: None
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HQThe Wormhole
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Launch Complex 16
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NASA Stennis Space Center
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Kent, WA
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Washington, DC
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