Metal Manufacturing Engineer, Additive (DED)

Speedrun Talent Network; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Hadrian is seeking an Additive Manufacturing Engineer - Applications focused on Directed Energy Deposition (DED). This role serves as the technical bridge between customer requirements and production-ready DED manufacturing solutions, collaborating with customers and internal teams to evaluate feasibility, guide DfAM, and scale programs from early engagement through qualification and production.

This hands-on, customer-facing engineering position lies at the intersection of applications

Responsibilities

• Gather customer requirements and translate them into actionable DED manufacturing plans.
• Evaluate part feasibility for Directed Energy Deposition and guide DfAM decisions.
• Define deposition strategy, feature design considerations, and post-processing-aware design.
• Outline manufacturing workflows from design to certification and production readiness.
• Develop, mature, and industrialize DED capabilities with internal teams.
• Identify improvements to enhance robustness and repeatability of DED processes.

Job description

Hadrian - Manufacturing the Future

Hadrian is building autonomous factories to reindustrialize America. By combining AI, advanced software, robotics, and full-stack manufacturing, we help aerospace and defense companies build rockets, satellites, aircraft, ships, and other mission-critical systems up to 10x faster and at significantly lower cost.

Following our $1.37B Series D at a $7.87B valuation, Hadrian is rapidly expanding our manufacturing footprint, launching new capabilities across welding, casting, forging, electronics, additive manufacturing, and more, while scaling our Factory-as-a-Service platform to transform how critical products are built.

Backed by leading investors including JPMorgan Chase, Valor Equity Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund, 137 Ventures, Lux Capital, T. Rowe Price, and Morgan Stanley, we’re building the future of American manufacturing—and looking for exceptional people to help make it happen.

If you’re ready to take on the most challenging and rewarding work of your career while helping create American manufacturing jobs for generations to come, you’re exactly who we’re looking for.

The Role:

Join us in shaping the future of aerospace and defense manufacturing. As an Additive Manufacturing Engineer - Applications focused on Directed Energy Deposition (DED), you will serve as a technical bridge between customer requirements and production-ready DED manufacturing solutions. You will work closely with customers and internal teams to evaluate part feasibility, guide Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM), support process development, and help scale DED programs from early engagement through qualification and production.

This is a hands-on, customer-facing engineering role at the intersection of applications engineering, manufacturing execution, and process development. You will help solve real-world DED manufacturing challenges, convert those solutions into repeatable manufacturing methods, and support the successful launch of high-impact aerospace and defense programs.

What You’ll Do:

• Customer Technical Support & Requirements Capture: Support technical engagement with customers by gathering requirements, clarifying design intent, and translating program needs into actionable manufacturing plans that align customer requirements with feasible DED manufacturing solutions.

• Program Feasibility & Application Development: Evaluate part and program fit for DED, identify technical risks, and support new application development, process selection, and manufacturing planning for critical hardware and production opportunities.

• DfAM & Design Reviews: Provide DfAM guidance specific to DED, including deposition strategy, feature design, access constraints, heat input considerations, distortion risk, machining stock, and post-processing-aware design decisions.

• Manufacturing Workflow & Build Planning: Define and optimize manufacturing workflows across design, deposition, post-processing, inspection, and certification, while supporting toolpath strategy, setup planning, and production readiness.

• DED Process Development & Industrialization: Partner with internal process and manufacturing teams to develop, mature, and industrialize DED capabilities, including equipment readiness, process windows, parameter refinement, and transition from development to repeatable production.

• Robustness, Repeatability & Process Improvement: Identify and drive improvements that make DED platforms and workflows more robust and repeatable based on machine behavior, deposition quality, process data, nonconformance trends, and production performance.

• Materials &