Metal AM R&D Engineer: DfAM & Process Optimization

Kensington360; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Kensington360 is seeking an R&D Engineer in Sunnyvale, CA to drive metal additive manufacturing opportunities. You will partner with customer teams to define requirements and develop AM validation plans, turning results into practical guidance for engineering groups.

The role blends design for AM, materials characterization, and transfer of validated processes to production, with hands-on testing and close customer interaction to deliver tangible improvements.

Qualifications

• 2–5 years of hands-on metal additive manufacturing experience.
• Experience with design for additive manufacturing (DfAM) and AM process development.
• Ability to translate technical results into actionable recommendations for customers.

Responsibilities

• Work with customer R&D teams to understand function, performance, and design constraints.
• Translate requirements into AM validation plans covering build parameters, heat treatment, inspection, and milestones.
• Lead collaborative design reviews and advise on printability and support strategies.
• Plan and execute process development and parameter optimization.
• Coordinate mechanical testing, metallography, nondestructive testing, and dimensional inspection.
• Investigate issues such as cracking, distortion, porosity, and lack of fusion, and recommend next steps.
• Present findings to both technical and nontechnical stakeholders.
• Document engineering decisions and prepare handover for production.

Skills

Metal AM

LPBF

Customer collaboration

DfAM

Education

Bachelor's in materials/metallurgy/mechanical engineering

Master's or PhD preferred

Tools

Materialise Magics

Oqton

Machine-native software

Job description

Kensington360 is seeking an R&D Engineer in Sunnyvale, CA to drive metal additive manufacturing opportunities. You will partner with customer teams to define requirements and develop AM validation plans, turning results into practical guidance for engineering groups.

The role blends design for AM, materials characterization, and transfer of validated processes to production, with hands-on testing and close customer interaction to deliver tangible improvements.