Lead Additive Manufacturing Engineer

Arcturus; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive cash compensation

Meaningful equity

Relocation support

Visa sponsorship for qualified candidates

Job summary

Arcturus in Los Angeles seeks a Lead Additive Manufacturing Engineer to develop and define its metal printing platform. This founding engineer role involves optimizing processes for aluminum and copper, focusing on nanomaterials. You will directly report to the CEO and work on innovative strategies that enhance metal additive manufacturing.

A minimum of 8 years of experience in metal AM is required, alongside an MS or PhD in a relevant field. Competitive compensation and relocation support are offered.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of hands-on experience in metal additive manufacturing or closely related systems.
• Deep expertise in LPBF and DED metal AM processes.
• Strong understanding of heat transfer, melt pool physics, and metallurgical relationships.

Responsibilities

• Own the development of the metal printing platform across LPBF and DED.
• Define and optimize print processes for aluminum and copper.
• Serve as the internal expert on metal AM process physics.

Skills

Metal additive manufacturing

Process development

Laser and optics expertise

Thermal management

Scientific writing

Education

MS or PhD in related engineering or science fields

Tools

CAD tools

Additive manufacturing build preparation tools

Job description

About Arcturus

Arcturus is creating a new wire technology stack that uses carbon nanomaterials to overcome the materials limitations of metals where performance breaks down, at real operating temperatures. Our technology is designed to significantly improve the performance of electric motors for drones and robotics, heat sinks, and ultimately the entire energy grid.

Why you should join us

This is a ground-floor opportunity to help build something that has never been done before.

You would join as a founding engineer and become Arcturus’ first additive manufacturing engineer, with the chance to define the company’s metal printing strategy from the beginning. You will work directly with the Founder and CEO to shape the technical direction of our manufacturing platform and help build a category-defining materials company from scratch.

Purpose

We are seeking a Lead Additive Manufacturing Engineer who can own the development of Arcturus’ metal printing platform across LPBF and DED-based approaches, starting with aluminum and copper systems infused with carbon nanomaterials like graphene and carbon nanotubes. This person should be deeply fluent in how metal additive systems actually work, from lasers and optics to melt pool behavior, thermal history, shielding environments, material delivery, and process control, and be able to translate that knowledge into repeatable, scalable manufacturing capability.

The role

This role reports directly to the CEO.

What you’ll do

• Own Arcturus’ additive manufacturing roadmap across LPBF and DED workflows for infused metal parts and wire

• Define and optimize print processes for copper and aluminum, including parameter development, thermal management, build strategy, and system-level tradeoffs

• Establish process windows that preserve conductivity, mechanical integrity, and nanomaterial performance through fabrication

• Serve as the company’s internal expert on metal AM process physics, machine behavior, lasers, and print quality

• Lead design-for-additive-manufacturing decisions, including build orientation, support strategy, scan strategy, and geometry tradeoffs that affect printability and final part performance

• Diagnose and solve print failures including porosity, cracking, distortion, poor bonding, and geometry drift

• Build qualification plans, process documentation, and acceptance criteria for repeatable development and future scale-up

• Define feedstock, shielding gas, and contamination-control practices that preserve material quality and process repeatability

• Use DOE, data analysis, and structured root-cause methods to optimize process windows and improve yield, repeatability, throughput, and cost

• Partner closely with nanomaterials, characterization, mechanical, and product engineering to connect print process to final conductor performance

• Contribute to invention disclosures, patent strategy, and internal technical documentation with a high bar for rigor and clarity

Basic qualifications

• MS, or PhD in metallurgical engineering, mechanical engineering, materials science, manufacturing engineering, welding engineering, physics, or a related field

• 8+ years of hands‑on experience in metal additive manufacturing, advanced process development, or closely related manufacturing systems

• Deep expertise in metal AM processes, especially LPBF and ideally DED or laser-based directed energy systems

• Strong understanding of lasers, optics, melt pool physics, heat transfer, solidification, residual stress, and metallurgical process‑structure‑property relationships

• Demonstrated experience developing, optimizing, troubleshooting, and scaling AM processes in real hardware environments

• Strong scientific and technical writing skills, including clear documentation of process development, test plans, specifications, and invention disclosures

Preferred qualifications

• Experience printing aluminum and/or copper alloys

• Experience with machine‑level AM development, including motion systems, powder handling, feedstock delivery, sensing, or controls

• Experience qualifying and scaling AM hardware in a high‑performance manufacturing environment

• Familiarity with CAD and AM build preparation tools, including slicing, scan strategy setup, support generation, and print simulation workflows

• Familiarity with metal matrix composites or other non‑standard AM material systems

What we offer

• Competitive cash compensation and meaningful equity

• Direct technical ownership over a core manufacturing platform

• The chance to define the playbook for nanomaterial‑enhanced metal additive manufacturing

• Relocation support for employees moving from outside the Los Angeles area

• Visa sponsorship for qualified candidates (H-1B transfers, F-1, or STEM OTP)