Product Engineer

Tribonet; Woburn (MA); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Unlimited vacation

Flexible working style

Health, dental & vision insurance

Job summary

Foundation Alloy, a Boston-area materials science startup, seeks a Product Engineer to translate alloy breakthroughs into manufacturable, reproducible, market-ready products with hands-on testing.

You will own post-testing failure analysis, design custom tests and rigs, work with external labs, maintain detailed data, calibrate equipment, and author datasheets and procedures across all alloy lines while collaborating with R&D, manufacturing, and commercial teams.

Qualifications

• MS or PhD in materials science, mechanical engineering or related field.
• 2+ years of industry experience in metallurgy, materials engineering with testing and characterization.
• Familiarity with alloy processing techniques such as powder metallurgy, heat treatment, or additive manufacturing.
• Familiarity with powder characterization and material property measurements including mechanical, electrical, magnetic and chemical characterization.
• Proven ability to develop quality assurance frameworks, write material specifications, and establish characterization test procedures.
• Systematic, detail-oriented problem solving and process development.
• Collaborative team player across R&D, manufacturing and commercial functions.
• Comfortable in a fast-paced, resource-constrained startup environment.
• Strong technical writing skills for datasheets, SOPs, and specs.

Responsibilities

• Own post-testing failure analysis of customer tests and translate findings into feedback.
• Design and build custom tests, rigs, and proxy methods to measure product performance.
• Work with external labs on high-temperature properties, wear, fatigue, oxidation, corrosion, DBTT, Gleeble and spectroscopy.
• Maintain detailed documentation of test data by alloy and product.
• Own calibration and maintenance of internal testing equipment.
• Author and maintain material datasheets, characterization procedures, and technical documentation.
• Partner with other engineers and scientists to determine testing needs and designs.

Skills

Materials science

Mechanical engineering

Material testing

Lab equipment maintenance

Technical writing

Cross-functional collaboration

Root cause analysis

Education

MS/PhD in materials science or related field

Tools

Powder metallurgy

Heat treatment

Additive manufacturing

Gleeble

Spectroscopy

Job description

An educational platform on tribology - the science of friction, wear and lubrication

Who is it for

Engineers, researchers, students and industry professionals

Foundation Alloy is building the most advanced metal alloy company in the world. Our mission is to unlock performance that legacy materials and processes simply cannot deliver, enabling the next generation of critical hardware across space, aerospace, defense, energy, and industrial applications.

Our proprietary MetalsFIRST™ platform eliminates melting entirely, using mechanical alloying and rapid sintering to produce alloys with ultra-fine grain structures and exceptional properties. We are already deploying initial materials, including our Molyclast™ alloys (MC700, MC1200, and MC-X) and specialty steels.

We are a Boston-area company commercializing deep materials science developed at the intersection of advanced manufacturing and frontier materials science. We move fast, operate with high technical rigor, and are scaling the infrastructure to bring these materials into production. Currently in the process of relocating from Cambridge, MA to Woburn, MA by early next year.

What you’ll be working on:

As our Product Engineer, you will sit at the critical link that transforms novel alloy breakthroughs into manufacturable, reproducible, and market‑ready products with a focus on hands‑on testing and characterization within the Product Department.

• Own post‑testing failure analysis of customer tests, determining root cause and translating findings into actionable feedback for the product and R&D teams.
• Design and build custom tests, rigs, and proxy methods that let us creatively and rigorously measure how our products perform under complex, real‑world operational conditions.
• Work with external labs on standard and specialized testing, including high temperature properties, wear, fatigue, oxidation, corrosion, DBTT, Gleeble, and spectroscopic analysis by vetting lab partners and arranging quotations, testing conditions, and timelines.
• Maintain detailed, organized documentation of test data by alloy and product for the whole organization.
• Own calibration and maintenance of internal testing equipment, implement best practices in obtaining accurate measurements.
• Author and maintain material datasheets, characterization procedures, and technical documentation for all alloy product lines.
• Partner with other product engineers and scientists to determine testing needs and design custom tests.

Qualifications

• MS or PhD degree in materials science, mechanical engineering or a related field.
• 2+ years of industry experience in metallurgy, materials engineering, or a related discipline, with demonstrated involvement in process and product development, testing, and characterization.
• Familiarity with alloy processing techniques such as powder metallurgy, heat treatment, or additive manufacturing relevant to demanding applications.
• Familiarity with powder characterization and material property measurements including mechanical, electrical, magnetic and chemical characterization.
• Proven ability to develop quality assurance frameworks, write material specifications, and establish characterization test procedures.
• Systematic, detail‑oriented approach to problem‑solving and process development.
• Collaborative team player who works effectively across R&D, manufacturing, and commercial functions.
• Comfortable operating with ownership and initiative in a fast‑paced, resource‑constrained start‑up environment.
• Strong technical writing skills — able to produce clear, organized documentation including datasheets, SOPs, and process specifications.

Culture

We don’t look for profiles that fit with our culture. We look for people that add to who we are - people with the initiative, positive approach to problem solving, and passion for something (anything!) that will make them both high impact and exciting to work alongside from day one. We know that these people come from all walks of life, with all backgrounds and levels of experience. If you’re excited about the work we can do together, please reach out. We enthusiastically welcome team members of all races, colors, religions, ages, sexes, sexual orientations, gender identities, national origins, different abilities, genetics, veteran statuses, and former incarceration statuses.

Compensation and Benefits

The success of this company will be grounded in the long‑term productivity of our team. To provide everyone with the physical, mental and financial safety to operate at their long‑term best, we provide the following:

• Meaningful, challenging, impactful work, and opportunities to grow within the company at all levels
• Competitive salary, guaranteed to rise with inflation at a minimum each year
• Equity - People at every level will have an impact, and should benefit from their work
• Unlimited paid vacation, with a very strong expectation that employees take a minimum of 15 days off per year, and a full week off at least once per year
• Flexible working style. Most jobs will require people to be present in person or in office most of the time, but in general we care about what’s getting done, not when or where you’re doing it
• Top tier health, dental and vision insurance with limited employee contributions
• A voice in future benefits. This is the beginning, and we will work together to keep adding new, better ways to provide for everyone in the company