Senior Materials & Structures Engineer, Aerospace

Segment (Twilio); Auckland; On-site; NZD 130,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation support

Visa sponsorship

Employee stock purchase program

Barista coffee and snacks

Job summary

Rocket Lab is seeking a Principal Development Engineer to lead design and certification strategies for mechanical structures on the Neutron launch vehicle. You will work with structural analysts, designers, and prototyping teams to drive material selection, process development, and testing to enable safe, reliable missions.

The role requires 8+ years in material systems design and hands-on experience with metallic and composite materials, plus strong communication and leadership skills to mentor

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Engineering (or equivalent experience).
• 8+ years of industry experience in design, development, and test of material systems (aviation/aerospace/automotive/marine).
• Experience with metallic materials, process development and qualification.
• Experience with composites and related materials (prepregs, fibers, resins, cores, adhesives, coatings).
• Knowledge of metallic material performance characteristics.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with mechanical engineers to assess designs and develop integrated solutions.
• Document material architectural decisions including material selection and process control.
• Design and coordinate testing to build material property databases for metallic components.
• Lead projects with stakeholders to ensure on-time and within-budget delivery.
• Contribute to technical decisions at conceptual and design stages; manage changes and risks.
• Mentor engineers and provide technical assistance.

Skills

System design

Project management

Materials knowledge

Communication

Deadline driven

Education

Engineering degree (Bachelors or Masters)

Tools

Siemens Teamcenter

Infor LN

Job description

Rocket Lab is seeking a Principal Development Engineer to lead design and certification strategies for mechanical structures on the Neutron launch vehicle. You will work with structural analysts, designers, and prototyping teams to drive material selection, process development, and testing to enable safe, reliable missions.

The role requires 8+ years in material systems design and hands-on experience with metallic and composite materials, plus strong communication and leadership skills to mentor