Propellant Manufacturing Engineer - Solid Rocket Motors

STEM Boomerang; Rio Rancho (NM); On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Paid time off

Medical coverage

Dental & Vision

401k

Parental leave

Meals provided

Stipend for wellness

EV charging

Job summary

Castelion in Rio Rancho, NM seeks a Propellant Manufacturing Engineer to lead SRM propellant manufacturing—develop, optimize, qualify, and scale formulation, mixing, casting, and curing. You will work hands-on with energetic materials in a high-consequence setting, ensuring safety, reliability, and producibility as production ramps up.

You’ll collaborate across Propulsion Design, Manufacturing, Quality, Automation & Controls, and Test teams to meet stringent performance and safety requirements

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Chemical, Materials, Manufacturing, Mechanical Engineering, or related field.
• 5+ years of manufacturing or process engineering experience with at least 3+ years hands-on work involving solid propellants or energetic materials.
• Experience developing or scaling mixing, casting, or similar batch operations in a regulated environment.
• Hands-on experience with propellant or energetic mixing, vacuum casting, and curing processes.
• Strong understanding of rheology, ingredient interactions, process sensitivity, and quality attributes (density, voids, mechanical properties, ballistic performance).
• Proficiency with process documentation, PFMEA, and root-cause methodologies.
• Familiarity with equipment design/qualification, instrumentation, and data collection for batch processes.
• Knowledge of energetic materials safety and hazardous location requirements.

Responsibilities

• Lead and execute propellant manufacturing processes for SRMs.
• Develop, optimize, qualify, and scale propellant formulation, mixing, casting and curing.
• Ensure propellant processes meet performance, safety, and producibility requirements.
• Collaborate with Propulsion Design, Manufacturing, Quality, Automation & Controls, and Test teams.
• Drive reliability, yield, safety, and throughput as transitioning to high-rate production.

Skills

Propellant manufacturing

Energetic materials handling

Process optimization

PFMEA & root-cause

Data collection & documentation

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in engineering

Tools

Minitab

Job description

Castelion in Rio Rancho, NM seeks a Propellant Manufacturing Engineer to lead SRM propellant manufacturing—develop, optimize, qualify, and scale formulation, mixing, casting, and curing. You will work hands-on with energetic materials in a high-consequence setting, ensuring safety, reliability, and producibility as production ramps up.

You’ll collaborate across Propulsion Design, Manufacturing, Quality, Automation & Controls, and Test teams to meet stringent performance and safety requirements