Fracture Control Engineer

Mclaurin Aerospace; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive pay

Employer-paid insurance including: 医疗/

Paid holidays

Generous PTO

401k after 12 months with match

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Mclaurin Aerospace in Houston, TX, invites a seasoned Fracture Control Engineer to support NASA Johnson Space Center on the JETS II contract. You will review fracture control plans, perform fracture mechanics assessments, and ensure compliance across hardware lifecycles.

The role requires a bachelor's in engineering and 5+ years' fracture control experience, familiarity with NASGRO, ABAQUS, Nastran/Patran, and strong communication to present results to cross-functional teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering with 5+ years in fracture control or related hardware verification.
• Experience with fracture mechanics, fatigue, and damage tolerance assessments.
• Familiarity with composites, nonmetals, and their fracture behavior.
• Hands-on fracture testing and familiarity with ASTM or NASA test methods.

Responsibilities

• Review fracture control plans and associated documentation for spaceflight hardware.
• Perform fracture mechanics assessments including crack growth and toughness interpretation.
• Review drawings, material specs, and manufacturing plans for fracture control compliance.
• Provide technical direction for fracture testing across metallic, composite, and non-metallic materials.
• Collaborate with design, stress, materials, QA, NDE, and safety teams for lifecycle compliance.
• Support technical reviews by presenting rationale, analysis results, and classifications.
• Evaluate flight hardware against NASA fracture control requirements and standards.
• Support anomaly resolution and contribute to risk assessments for fracture issues.

Skills

Fracture mechanics

Damage tolerance

NDE methods

Technical communication

Materials knowledge

FEM software

Safety & standards interpretation

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

MS or PhD in Engineering

Tools

NASGRO

ABAQUS

Nastran/Patran

Job description

Are you passionate about human space exploration, understanding the origins of the universe, and working with a passionate and diverse team to make a difference? If you are, we need you!

We need your talent, teamwork, and energy to help us achieve great things that inspire people all over the globe. We need you to bring creative ideas and diverse backgrounds to help us envision, shape, and deliver systems that will enable the exploration of space while benefiting people here on Earth. We are excited about what we do, and we need you on our team as we take on exciting challenges for NASA's pursuits in deep space exploration.

We have an exciting opportunity for a Fracture Control Engineer to join our JETS II contract team at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX.

If selected you will:

• Review Fracture Control Plans, Fracture Control Summaries, and associated documentation for spaceflight hardware.
• Perform fracture mechanics assessments, including crack growth analysis, fracture toughness interpretation, and criticality classification.
• Review engineering drawings, material specs, and manufacturing plans for fracture control compliance.
• Provide technical direction for fracture testing (fracture toughness, crack propagation, stress corrosion, fatigue testing) for metallic, composite, and non-metallic materials.
• Collaborate with design engineers, stress analysts, materials engineers, quality assurance, NDE personnel, and program safety/mission assurance to ensure fracture-control compliance across the hardware lifecycle.
• Support technical reviews (PDR, CDR, FRB, ERB, hazard reviews) by presenting rationale, analysis results, and classification decisions.
• Evaluate flight hardware for compliance with NASA fracture control requirements, applicable standards and program-specific criteria.
• Support anomaly resolution, provide technical recommendations, and contribute to risk assessments for fracture-related issues.
• Other tasks as required.

Qualifications:

This position has been posted at multiple levels. Depending on the candidate's experience, requirements, and business needs, we reserve the right to consider candidates at any level for which this position has been advertised.

• Typically requires a minimum of a bachelor's degree in Engineering and normally possess 5- 10 years of related experience. License and certification may be required.
• Bachelor's degree or higher (e.g., M.S. or Ph.D.) in Engineering in the following areas: Mechanical, Materials Science, Aerospace.
• 5 or more years of professional experience in fracture control, stress/fracture analysis, materials & processes engineering, structural analysis, or related hardware verification.
• Strong experience with fracture mechanics principles, fatigue and damage tolerance assessment.
• Familiarity with composite materials, nonmetals, and their fracture behavior (including delamination, matrix cracking, interlaminar fracture).
• Hands-on experience with fracture testing (toughness, fatigue, crack propagation) and related ASTM or NASA test methods.
• Working knowledge of NDE techniques relevant to fracture-critical hardware.
• Ability to interpret NASA fracture control requirements, program standards, and certification processes.
• Strong technical communication skills and ability to present rationale to multidisciplinary and program leadership teams.

Preferred Qualifications:

• PhD or advanced degree highly preferred.
• Previous experience supporting NASA human spaceflight hardware or fracture control processes.
• Experience with analysis tools such as NASGRO, ABAQUS, Nastran/Patran, or comparable fracture/stress analysis software.

Benefits

• Competitive pay
• Positive work-life balance
• 100% Employer paid insurance including: Medical, dental, vision, life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, short-term disability, and long-term disability
• 11 paid holidays annually
• Generous PTO
• 401k after 12 months of service with employer match
• Education assistance
• Relocation assistance (if applicable)

Mclaurin is a unique organization with a special focus on combining the best features of research and industry in order to foster innovation. Our organization strongly supports research, publication, and engagement with the academic community. We encourage our employees to remain on the cutting edge of new developments in their respective disciplines.

US Citizenship and the ability to pass a comprehensive security background investigation is required.

Mclaurin is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status or other characteristics protected by law.