With our strong investment in research and development and our culture of continuous improvement, Hexcel is the industry leader in the manufacturing of advance composite materials, including carbon fiber, woven reinforcements, resins, prepregs, honeycombs and engineered core and composite structures. We invite you to join the Hexcel team at various manufacturing sites, sales offices and R&D centers around the globe. Become a part of the “strength within.”
Hexcel is currently seeking a Research and Development Data Scientist for our Salt Lake City, UT, USA. This person will lead the development and deployment of digital twin technologies that accelerate material, process, and product innovation. This role will focus on building virtual representations of manufacturing processes, materials, and products using advanced analytics, machine learning, physics-based modeling, and AI. The successful candidate will bridge physical experimentation and digital simulation to improve process performance, reduce development cycles, and support next-generation composite material technologies.
The selected individual will be responsible for but not limited to the following obligations:
- Lead the design, development, validation, and deployment of digital twins for manufacturing processes, material systems, and product development programs.
- Develop hybrid modeling approaches that combine physics-based models, first-principles engineering, machine learning, and statistical methodologies.
- Integrate sensor, process, quality, and operational data into digital twin frameworks to improve predictive capabilities and decision-making.
- Design and implement advanced AI, machine learning, and analytics solutions that enhance model accuracy, process control, and product performance.
- Collaborate with scientists, engineers, technicians, and manufacturing teams to translate physical system behavior into scalable digital twin architectures.
- Support experimentation strategies, including Design of Experiments (DOE), active learning, and closed-loop optimization to continuously improve digital twin performance.
- Develop simulation environments for evaluating process changes, material innovations, and manufacturing outcomes before physical implementation.
- Establish model governance practices including validation, uncertainty quantification, monitoring, and lifecycle management of digital twin applications.
- Communicate digital twin insights and recommendations to technical and business stakeholders to drive data-driven innovation and operational excellence.
Required Qualifications
- Master's degree in data science, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Applied Mathematics, Physics, or a related technical discipline.
- Minimum 2+ years of experience developing predictive models, digital twins, simulation tools, or advanced analytics solutions in an industrial environment.
- Demonstrated experience creating and validating digital twin or virtual process models using machine learning, statistical modeling, physics-based modeling, or hybrid approaches.
- Experience modeling complex physical, chemical, or manufacturing systems.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to connect physical processes to data-driven modeling techniques.
- Proficiency in Python, R, or similar programming languages and associated machine learning ecosystems.
- Experience with cloud-based data and AI platforms, preferably Microsoft Azure.
- Strong communication skills with the ability to explain complex modeling concepts to multidisciplinary teams.
- Eligible candidates must be a U.S. citizen.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with Digital Twin platforms, Industrial IoT architectures, or digital thread initiatives.
- Experience with Azure Digital Twins, Azure Machine Learning, Azure IoT, Microsoft Fabric, Synapse, or related Microsoft technologies.
- Experience working with manufacturing data, process optimization, materials development, or composite materials.
- Familiarity with ML Ops, model deployment, model governance, and continuous monitoring frameworks.
- Experience utilizing large language models (LLMs), generative AI, or AI agents to support engineering and scientific workflows.
- Experience applying AI and optimization techniques to material formulation or chemical composition development
Eligible candidates must be a: U.S. citizen, U.S. national, person lawfully admitted for permanent residence, temporary resident under sections 210(a) or 245(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, person admitted in refugee status, or person granted asylum. Hexcel (NYSE: HXL) is a global leader in advanced composites technology, a leading producer of carbon fiber, and the world leader in honeycomb manufacturing for the commercial aerospace industry.
Hexcel is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other protected class.
Skills Required
- Master's degree in data science
- Bachelor's degree in materials science, chemistry, chemical engineering, or related field
- Minimum of 2 years of experience in an industrial setting applying machine learning and advanced analytics
- Proven ability to develop and implement digital twin and other process/system models
- Experience working with product development teams and knowledge of DOE and active learning methods
- Proficiency in data preprocessing and data cleaning for large, noisy datasets
- Ability to apply state-of-the-art data science and AI methods for process optimization and innovation
- Strong programming skills in Python or R
- Experience with Microsoft's technology stack and the Azure digital toolset
- Experience with multiple large and small language models, including models optimized for chemical compositions
- Must be U.S. citizen, U.S. national, permanent resident, certain temporary residents under INA sections 210(a)/245(A), refugee, or asylee
Hexcel Corporation Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Hexcel Corporation and has not been reviewed or approved by Hexcel Corporation.
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Fair & Transparent Compensation — Pay is often characterized as competitive or good for the area, with overtime and bonuses contributing to a stronger overall cash picture. Compensation is also described as varying by role and location, but it still stands out as a perceived strength in many operational settings.
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Retirement Support — Retirement offerings include a 401(k) with employer matching and access to stock-related programs such as an employee stock purchase plan. This supports a total-rewards story that goes beyond base pay for eligible roles.
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Inclusive Benefits Coverage — Core coverage is described as broadly available to U.S. employees, including medical, prescription, dental, and vision plans alongside life and disability protections. Tuition reimbursement and voluntary insurance options further widen the practical usefulness of the package.
Hexcel Corporation Insights
What We Do
As a leading producer of carbon fiber reinforcements and resin systems, and the world leader in honeycomb manufacturing for the commercial aerospace industry, Hexcel is creating a better world for us all through lightweight solutions.
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