Senior Engineer, Materials

Beehive Industries; Knoxville (TN); Presencial; USD 120.000 - 180.000; Jornada completa

Ventajas ofrecidas por este puesto de trabajo

Medical coverage

Dental coverage

Life insurance

Disability coverage

401(k) match

Bonus eligible

Company equity

Descripción de la vacante

Beehive Industries in Knoxville, TN seeks a Senior Materials Engineer to advance AM metallurgy, material characterization, and production integration for aerospace/defense programs.

The role focuses on metals selection, post-processing optimization, and defect reduction to enable high-performance AM operations, while mentoring engineers and guiding strategic material initiatives.

Formación

• Bachelor’s degree in Materials Science & Engineering or related field.
• Minimum 5 years experience in metals/materials for aerospace/defense.
• Experience leading complex materials tasks and failure analyses.
• Experience in additive manufacturing metallurgy.

Responsabilidades

• Serve as technical authority for aerospace metals and AM metallurgy.
• Define material roadmaps and characterization protocols.
• Establish material specs, heat treatment standards, powder controls.
• Lead development of production-ready material processing specs (HIP, heat treatment, surface finishing).
• Mentor junior engineers and guide cross-functional teams.
• Support testing labs, suppliers, and future materials tech.

Conocimientos

Powder metallurgy

Heat treatment

Metallurgy

DOE

Statistical methods

Root cause analysis

Mentoring

Technical communication

Educación

Bachelor's in Materials Science & Eng

Master's degree preferred

PhD considered

Herramientas

SEM

EDS

EBSD

CT scanning

Metallography

Hardness testing

Tensile testing

Descripción del empleo

Role Overview

The Senior Materials Engineer serves as a technical authority responsible for advancing materials, heat treatment, powder metallurgy, and material characterization capabilities for critical aerospace and defense applications. This role provides expert individual contribution and project guidance in additive manufacturing (AM) metallurgy, material property optimization, and production integration while supporting strategic engineering initiatives. The Senior Materials Engineer drives solutions to complex technical challenges in material selection, post-processing, microstructural evaluation, and defect reduction to enable reliable, high-performance additive manufacturing operations.

What You’ll Do…

• Serve as a technical authority for aerospace-grade metals, powder characterization, heat treatment development, and material qualification across additive manufacturing workflows.
• Define technical strategies, material roadmaps, and material characterization protocols to support process development and production scalability.
• Establish and improve material specifications, heat treatment standards, powder control limits, and technical documentation.
• Drive resolution of complex challenges related to powder metallurgy, solidification behavior, microstructural evolution, thermal history, defect mechanisms, and mechanical performance.
• Lead development and qualification of production-ready material processing specifications, including hot isostatic pressing (HIP), heat treatment, and surface finishing.
• Apply advanced expertise in metallurgy and materials science to optimize mechanical properties, static/fatigue performance, microstructural integrity, and defect reduction.
• Influence integration of materials engineering practices into broader manufacturing workflows, including post-processing, machining, NDT/inspection, and quality management systems.
• Guide cross-functional engineering teams in solving complex metallurgical problems and evaluating new material technologies.
• Mentor junior engineers and materials specialists, fostering technical growth across materials and additive manufacturing initiatives.
• Support strategic decisions regarding testing laboratory capabilities, material suppliers, powder reuse strategies, and future materials technology.
• Represent materials engineering expertise in technical reviews with leadership, customers, suppliers, and government/industry partners.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

You have…

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Materials Science & Engineering, Metallurgy, Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical field; or equivalent combination of education and experience

Experience

• Minimum of 5 years of related experience with a; or 3 years and a Master’s degree; or a PhD without experience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Demonstrated experience developing, characterizing, and qualifying high-performance metallic materials and heat treatments for production applications.
• Experience leading complex materials engineering tasks, failure analyses, and material selection efforts on engineering programs.
• Experience supporting aerospace, defense, or other highly regulated industries governed by strict quality and material specifications.

Skills & Competencies

• Advanced knowledge of powder metallurgy, physical/extractive metallurgy, phase transformations, microstructure-property relationships, and heat treatment of aerospace alloys (e.g., Nickel, Titanium, Aluminum, Steel, or refractory alloys).
• Deep understanding of material testing standards (ASTM, SAE/AMS, ISO) and metallurgical analysis techniques (SEM, EDS, EBSD, metallography, CT scanning, hardness, tensile, fatigue, creep).
• Experience developing material specifications, powder handling/qualification controls, and heat treatment parameters for additively manufactured parts.
• Strong background in experimental design (DOE), statistical process control, and failure analysis methods (root cause analysis).
• Ability to establish technical direction, solve multi-faceted engineering challenges, and drive cross-functional decision-making.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to articulate complex material performance trade-offs to executive leadership and technical partners.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor engineers and elevate organizational technical standards.
• The ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government-issued security clearance is required. U.S. citizenship is required, as only U.S. citizens are eligible for a security clearance.

Nice to have…

• Master’s degree or PhD in Engineering, Metallurgy, Materials Engineering, or related field
• Experience qualifying additive manufacturing materials specifically for propulsion systems, turbomachinery, or high-temperature defense applications.
• Practical familiarity with additive processes such as Metal Binder Jetting (MBJ), Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF), Direct Energy Deposition (DED), or Electron Beam Melting (EBM).
• Familiarity with post-processing operations, including Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP), chemical/mechanical surface treatments, investment casting, and machining.
• Experience managing external metallurgical testing vendors, powder suppliers, or Nadcap-accredited testing facilities.
• Contribution to patents, peer-reviewed publications, technical conference presentations, or industry consensus standards (e.g., ASTM F42, SAE AMS-AM).

• group Medical, Dental, Life,and Short and Long-Term disability coverage from day one
• generous 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan with a Company match
• Bonus eligible
• Equity in the company

Beehive Industries is committed to full compliance with applicable anti-discrimination laws.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company.

We strive to create an inclusive work environment and will not discriminateon the basis ofrace, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.