Senior Materials and Process Engineer

Tribonet; Menlo Park, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Benefits package

Onsite work at Menlo Park

Job summary

Mainspring Energy, based in Menlo Park, CA, seeks a Senior Materials and Process Engineer to advance materials and processes for the Linear Generator. You will lead graphite component validation, collaborate across design, supply chain, and quality, and drive robust material specifications for scalable production.

The role emphasizes cross-functional teamwork, data-driven validation, and deploying cost-effective solutions with an eye toward reliability and performance in real-world deployments.

Qualifications

• MS in materials or mechanical engineering with 5+ years of experience, or PhD with 3+ years
• Deep understanding of isostatic graphite structure and production processes
• Experience with volume production of graphite components preferred
• Knowledge of dry tribology for graphite/ceramic materials preferred
• Experience with FMEA
• Proficiency in Matlab/Python and data analysis
• Excellent communication and collaborative skills

Responsibilities

• Lead independent process development and material validation of graphite components and tribological systems in the Linear Generator
• Characterize graphite properties, identify failure modes, and perform validation tests to meet reliability requirements
• Create, develop, and optimize material and process specifications for graphite and other mechanical components
• Write specifications, process control, and quality plans for graphite and mechanical components
• Collaborate with other teams such as mechanical design, supply chain and quality to qualify processes at manufacturing locations
• Participate in FMEA for design, process, and maintenance
• Support the Materials and Process team with failure analysis and process development projects

Skills

FMEA

Matlab

Python

Excel

Google Sheets

Education

MS in Materials Science/Engineering or Mechanical Engineering

Tools

Weibull++

Excel

Google Sheets

Matlab

Python

Job description

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

Who is it for

Engineers, researchers, students and industry professionals

Company Overview

Mainspring Energy is revolutionizing power generation with the world’s most flexible and adaptable local power generation technology, the Mainspring Linear Generator. Commercial, industrial, and utility leaders are choosing Mainspring over traditional options like engines, turbines, and fuel cells to quickly and reliably deliver local power for EV charging, commercial facilities, data centers, and grid-scale operations.

The Mainspring Linear Generator is fuel flexible, ramps up and down to meet demand, and utilizes a flameless reaction with near-zero NOx emissions. Backed by top-tier investors including Khosla Ventures, Bill Gates, American Electric Power, Lightrock, and General Catalyst Mainspring designs, manufactures and delivers its products to customers across the U.S. today, and we’re quickly scaling for international expansion.

Inspired by our vision of the affordable, reliable, net-zero carbon grid, Mainspring is rapidly expanding within the $816B global electricity equipment market, and we’re hiring the best talent to meet growing customer demand around the globe. We welcome a broad range of backgrounds, experiences, and talents to bring fresh perspectives and ongoing innovation to our customers.

We are looking to build relationships with people who share our values:

Pragmatic Optimism. Building a new category of world-class power generation requires the optimism of ambition and creativity, balanced with practicality to solve problems efficiently. The challenges that arise are opportunities for growth.

Excellence without Ego. We bring expertise and commitment to creating the best customer experience, from sales to deployment and service, just as we apply deep technical rigor to building and delivering world-class products. We strive for excellence and behave as leaders with the humility to acknowledge our challenges, both collectively and as individual contributors.

Proactive Collaboration. The integration and cross-disciplinary nature of Mainspring’s business requires intentionally seeking out others who bring different skills, perspectives, and priorities. Our culture of inclusion and respect extends beyond our team to interactions with our partners and customers.

More information can be found at www.mainspringenergy.com

Job Overview

We have a high-impact opportunity for a Senior Materials and Process Engineer who wants to join a world-class engineering team and help scale production of the Linear Generator. The materials and process team at Mainspring Energy works on complex development projects which are at the intersection of properties, performance and processing of a wide range of materials – non ferrous, ferrous, coatings, graphite, polymers etc.

In this role, you will develop reliable cost effective materials solutions and manage existing solutions through validation testing, process development and deployment on an actual part/subassembly. This is a great opportunity to be part of cross functional projects and collaborate with multiple teams such as Supply chain, Quality, Reliability, Design and Production.

Responsibilities

• Lead independent process development and material validation of graphite components and tribological systems in the Linear Generator
• Collaborate with other members of the Materials and Engineering teams to characterize graphite properties, identify failure modes, and execute validation tests to meet reliability requirements
• Create, develop, and optimize material and process specifications related to graphite and other mechanical components
• Write specifications, process control, and quality control plans for graphite and other mechanical components
• Collaborate with other teams such as mechanical design, supply chain and quality to qualify processes and establish key process controls at manufacturing locations
• Participate in FMEA for design, process, and maintenance
• Support the Materials and Process team with failure analysis and process development projects in other areas

Qualifications

• MS in Materials Science/Engineering or Mechanical Engineering
• MS + 5 years or PhD + 3 years of industry experience
• Deep understanding of isostatic graphite structure, properties and performance, including graphite manufacturing processes.
• Fundamental understanding of properties and performance of engineering materials, and basic knowledge of structure-property relationships
• Experience with volume production of graphite components is highly preferred
• Knowledge of dry (solid lubrication) tribology relative to ceramic or graphite materials is highly preferred
• Working knowledge and experience with FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis)
• Demonstrated experience with statistical data analysis and reporting (Matlab/Python, Google Sheets/Excel, Weibull++, etc.)
• Excellent communication skills, adaptable self-starter, enjoys collaboration in a fast-paced environment

Does your experience not meet all of our posted requirements? Studies have shown that some people are less likely to apply to positions unless they meet every listed requirement. At Mainspring, we are committed to building a diverse, inclusive, flexible, and collaborative environment, so if you want to help us transition the world to clean and affordable electricity, and don’t meet all posted requirements for a particular role, we’d still love to hear from you. Mainspring can sometimes be flexible enough to shift responsibilities for the right person, or otherwise identify open or upcoming roles that may better fit your professional background.

In more traditional words, Mainspring Energy, Inc is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.

This compensation and benefits information is based on Mainspring Energy’s estimate as of the date of publication and may be modified in the future. We generally do not negotiate on salary once we have made an offer. The level of pay within the range will depend on a variety of job-related factors that may include location, relevant prior experience and/or education, or particular skills and expertise. New hires joining the company tend to be paid within the starting base pay range noted above, with opportunities to increase pay over time based on development of additional skills, competencies, and company-specific knowledge.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.

This position is onsite at our Menlo Park HQ. The salary will be adjusted to reflect local market conditions based on employee location as well as the experience of the employee. Along with the base salary, Mainspring offers pre-IPO stock options + benefits.