Senior Composite Project Engineer

Element Materials Technology; Duarte (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Element Los Angeles in Duarte, CA seeks a Senior Technical Project Engineer to lead aerospace material-qualification, design-allowables, and certification-support programs.

This role partners with customers, engineering, quality, and operations to own project scope, schedule, risk, and communication, ensuring successful execution of complex lab testing plans for large sample sets. Salary DOE and strong growth opportunities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, materials science, aerospace, chemistry, physics, or related field.
• 7+ years in technical project management, aerospace testing, material qualification, composite materials, or lab operations.
• Clear and concise communication, expectation management, and ability to de-escalate situations.
• Working knowledge of polymer and ceramic matrix composites, plastics, specimen machining and preparation, environmental conditioning, mechanical testing, instrumentation, data acquisition, and technical reporting.
• Demonstrated ownership of complex schedules, budgets, forecasts, risks, resources, and cross-functional execution.
• Experience with scheduling tools, LIMS or ERP systems, and aerospace specifications.

Responsibilities

• Lead as primary project contact; conduct weekly status reviews and manage expectations and scope changes.
• Oversee project from contract review through planning, scheduling, testing, data review, reporting, invoicing, and closeout.
• Develop and maintain project schedules, IMS milestones, forecasts, and budgets.
• Coordinate FAA certification-program activities with customers, FAA representatives, and internal teams.
• Interpret statements of work, test plans, and aerospace specs to develop lab plans.
• Determine staffing, equipment, and procurement needs; manage risks and escalations.
• Ensure projects comply with ISO/IEC 17025, Nadcap, FAA requirements, and calibration traceability.
• Mentor engineers and PMs in communication, customer management, and status reporting.

Skills

7+ years of experience

Project leadership

Customer communication

Polymer matrix composites

Ceramic matrix composites

Mechanical testing

Data acquisition

Technical reporting

Scheduling

Risk management

Cross-functional execution

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering or related field

Tools

LIMS

ERP systems

Microsoft Office

Job description

Overview

Element Los Angeles has an opportunity for a Senior Technical Project Engineer at our Duarte, CA composites non-metallic material test laboratory. We are seeking a technically grounded individual to lead complex aerospace material-qualification, design-allowables, and certification-support programs.

Partnering with customers, engineering, laboratory operations, quality, and commercial teams, this role is the liaison between the laboratory and the customer to execute customer test plans into within the lab workflows while owning schedule, resources, risk, customer communication, and project successes and failures.

Projects may involve multiple material batches, conditioning environments, subcontractors, and up to 10,000 specimens. The successful candidate will combine technical knowledge of composite materials testing with disciplined customer management, customer communication, project leadership, and cross-functional execution.

Salary: $90,000- $130,000/yr DOE

Responsibilities

• Customer leadership: Serve as the primary project contact; lead weekly status reviews, communicate technical and schedule issues and risks, manage expectations and scope changes, and coordinate customer witness activities.
• Project ownership: Lead projects from contract review and kickoff through planning, scheduling, work instruction creation, specimen organization, specimen preparation, conditioning, testing, data review, reporting, invoicing, and closeout. Projects can involve up to 10,000 samples requiring strong organization and traceability. Highly complex projects will need to be simplified for laboratory execution.
• Schedule and financial control: Develop and maintain project schedules and integrated master schedules (IMS), milestones, forecasts, budgets, change impacts, and recovery plans.
• FAA program coordination: Coordinate approved FAA certification-program activities with customers, authorized FAA representatives or designees, and internal quality and technical personnel, including test-plan interfaces, conformity readiness, witness points, data packages, and final reporting.
• Technical translation: Interpret statements of work, test plans, ASTM and ISO methods, CMH-17 guidance, customer specifications, and customer instructions to develop executable laboratory plans.
• Resources and risk: Determine staffing, equipment, fixtures, instrumentation, suppliers, and procurement needs; manage capacity constraints, project risks, mitigations, contingencies, and escalation.
• Quality and compliance: Execute projects within current controlled requirements, including ISO/IEC 17025, Nadcap, applicable FAA requirements, customer approvals, configuration control, calibration status, measurement traceability, data integrity, and nonconformance processes.
• Team development: No direct report responsibilities. Lead by influencing and mentoring engineers and project managers in communication, customer service, meeting leadership, status reporting, scheduling, budgeting, risk management, escalation, and customer management.

Skills / Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in engineering, materials science, aerospace, chemistry, physics, or a related technical field.
• Experience: Seven or more years in technical project management, aerospace testing, material qualification, composite materials, or laboratory operations.
• Customer Service: Clear and concise communication, expectation management, able to manage and de-escalate situations.
• Technical knowledge: Working knowledge of polymer matrix composites, ceramic matric composites, plastics, specimen machining and preparation, environmental conditioning, mechanical testing, instrumentation, calibration, data acquisition, and technical reporting.
• Project leadership: Demonstrated ownership of complex schedules, budgets, forecasts, risks, resources, customer commitments, and cross-functional execution; strong written, verbal, facilitation, and customer-management skills.
• Systems and compliance: Experience with project scheduling tools, LIMS or ERP systems, Microsoft Office, ISO/IEC 17025, Nadcap, and aerospace specifications.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in a technical field.
• PMP or comparable project-management certification.
• Proven experience with composite material qualification, design-allowable programs.
• Experience supporting FAA certification testing, conformity readiness, or customer-witness activities.
• Familiarity with CMH-17 and aerospace composite test methods (ASTM, ISO, etc.).

Company Overview

Element is one of the fastest growing testing, inspection and certification businesses in the world. Globally we have more than 9,000 brilliant minds operating from 270 sites across 30 countries. Together we share an ambitious purpose to ‘Make tomorrow safer than today’.

When failure in use is not an option, we help customers make certain that their products, materials, processes and services are safe, compliant and fit for purpose. From early R&D, through complex regulatory approvals and into production, our global laboratory network of scientists, engineers, and technologists support customers to achieve assurance over product quality, sustainable outcomes, and market access.

While we are proud of our global reach, working at Element feels like being part of a smaller company. We empower you to take charge of your career, and reward excellence and integrity with growth and development.

Industries across the world depend on our care, attention to detail and the absolute accuracy of our work. The role we have to play in creating a safer world is much bigger than our organization.

Diversity Statement

At Element, we always take pride in putting our people first. We are an equal opportunity employer that recognizes diversity and inclusion as fundamental to our Vision of becoming “the world’s most trusted testing partner”.

All suitably qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment on the basis of objective work related criteria and without regard for the following: age, disability, ethnic origin, gender, marital status, race, religion, responsibility of dependents, sexual orientation, or gender identity or other characteristics in accordance with the applicable governing laws or other characteristics in accordance with the applicable governing laws.