Materials Engineer (New Grad December 2026)

Freeform; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 95,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock option packages

Employer-paid Medical, Dental, Vision

Relocation assistance

Paid vacation and holidays

Free catered meals

401(k) plan

Job summary

Freeform, based in Hawthorne, CA, seeks a Materials Engineer for hands-on metals characterization and processing tasks as part of its AI-native manufacturing platform. You’ll work with senior engineers to test materials, analyze data, and drive strategic improvements in metal 3D printing workflows.

New graduates starting December 2026 are welcome. The role focuses on fundamentals of metals science, data-driven quality, and collaboration across disciplines to advance cutting-edge additive

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Materials science/engineering from ABET-accredited program.
• Hands-on labs or coursework in metals characterization, processing or sample prep.
• Strong grounding in materials engineering fundamentals and first principles.

Responsibilities

• Support development of M&P testing infrastructure and best practices.
• Operate equipment to measure material properties (tensile strength, surface roughness, microstructure).
• Generate and track quality metrics for printed parts and data-driven improvements.
• Interpret data and present key findings to teams.
• Collaborate to improve upstream printing processes and ML model training.
• Assist in optimizing measurement procedures and automate M&P tasks.

Skills

Metals characterization

Materials fundamentals

First principles problem solving

Lab techniques

Education

Bachelor's degree in Materials Science/Engineering

Master's or PhD in Materials Science/Engineering

Tools

SEM

Instron

R

JMP

Minitab

Job description

MATERIALS ENGINEER (NEW GRAD DECEMBER 2026)

Freeform builds AI-native manufacturing systems that unify software, hardware, and physics to produce industrial-scale parts at the speed of human ideation. By treating manufacturing as a single integrated system, we unlock a new era of innovation where complex hardware is designed, built, and scaled without limits.

As a Materials Engineer at Freeform, you will support the company's M&P infrastructure, strategy, and best practices for our advanced metal 3D printing technology. You will work alongside senior engineers to conduct hands on sample testing, analyze findings, and contribute to strategic process improvements. This is a unique opportunity to build a fundamental understanding of metals characterization and processing while working at the cutting edge of additive manufacturing.

3D printing experience is not required to be successful here, rather we look for smart, motivated, collaborative engineers who love solving hard problems and creating amazing technology!

Responsibilities

• Support the development of Freeform's M&P best practices and materials testing infrastructure
• Operate equipment to measure material properties such as tensile strength, surface roughness, and microstructure
• Generate and track quality metrics of printed customer parts such as dimensional accuracy, defect distribution, and surface roughness
• Organize, analyze, and interpret data and present key findings
• Work with the process development team to tie key materials findings into improvement of upstream printing processes, including training our advanced machine learning models
• Assist in optimizing processes and procedures for measuring and quantifying material quality
• Support automation efforts for M&P procedures to take human out of the loop

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Materials Science, Materials Engineering, Metallurgy, or Mechanical Engineering from an ABET accredited university or college
• Hands on lab or coursework experience with metals characterization, processing, or sample preparation techniques such as cutting, grinding, polishing, acid etching, and optical microscopy
• Well versed in materials engineering fundamentals and comfortable taking a first principles approach to solving problems

Nice to Have

• Advanced degree (Master's, PhD) in Materials Science, Materials Engineering, Metallurgy, or Mechanical Engineering
• Experience with metal additive manufacturing highly preferred
• Experience with laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) processes
• Experience operating complex materials equipment (SEM, Instron, etc.)
• Familiarity with processing large datasets and statistical data analysis software such as R, JMP, or Minitab
• Passion for improving the state of metal 3D printing
• Comfortable working in fast paced, ambiguous environments and iterating quickly (comfortable building the plane as we fly it)
• Strong communicator who collaborates across disciplines and proactively seeks support when needed
• Willing to take ownership of tasks big and small, with a hands on, problem solving mindset
• Strong work ethic with a refuse to fail mindset
• Demonstrated indicators of excellence and/or achieving success against adversity (i.e. top academic performance, leadership in engineering clubs, first generation college student, or other examples of resilience and achievement)

Location

• Based in Hawthorne, our vertically integrated facility brings technology development, R&D, and production together under one roof. We operate at the center of LA’s deep tech ecosystem, surrounded by some of the most ambitious hardware innovation happening anywhere in the country.
• Our fast-paced, cross-functional environment is built on close collaboration, and as such, this role requires full-time onsite presence (five days a week), with very limited exceptions.

What We Offer

• We have an inclusive and diverse culture that values collaboration, learning, and making deliberate data-driven decisions.
• We offer a unique opportunity to be an early and integral member of a rapidly growing company that is scaling a world-changing technology.
• Benefits
  • Significant stock option packages
  • 100% employer-paid Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance (premium PPO and HMO options)
  • Life insurance
  • Traditional and Roth 401(k)
  • Relocation assistance provided
  • Paid vacation, sick leave, and company holidays
  • Generous Paid Parental Leave and extended transition back to work for the birthing parent
  • Free daily catered lunch and dinner, and fully stocked kitchenette
  • Casual dress, flexible work hours, and regular catered team building events
• Compensation
  • Our intent is to offer a salary that is commensurate for the company’s current stage of development and allows the employee to grow and develop within a role.
  • In addition to the significant stock option package, the estimated salary range for this role is $95,000-$120,000, dependent on the candidate's academic level (Bachelors, Masters, or PhD) and demonstrated out of classroom experience.

Freeform is an Equal Opportunity Employer that values diversity; employment with Freeform is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.