Lead Materials & Processes Engineer, Stage

Relativity Space; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 144,000 - 176,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Generous PTO and sick leave policy

Parental leave

Annual learning and development stipend

Job summary

A leading aerospace company in Long Beach seeks a Materials and Processes Engineering Lead. This role involves directing the engineering team focused on developing materials for rocket structures and systems. Candidates should have a degree in materials science or engineering along with over 4 years of relevant experience. The position offers a salary range of $144,000 to $176,000 and various benefits, emphasizing a collaborative and innovative culture at the company.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of relevant materials & process engineering experience.
• Experience with M&P qualification and failure analysis.
• Ability to lead a diverse team with empathy and inclusivity.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Stage Materials and Processes Engineering team.
• Define expectations, roles, responsibilities, and communication.
• Drive technical direction and strategy for Stage M&P.

Skills

Leadership

Materials Engineering

Collaboration

Risk Mitigation

Education

Bachelor’s degree in materials science or engineering

Job description

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 [e-mail].