Senior Materials & Processes Engineer, Welding

Relativity Space; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 124,000 - 186,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Paid time off & sick leave

Parental leave

Learning & development stipend

Job summary

Relativity Space in Long Beach, CA is seeking a skilled Materials & NDE engineer specializing in weld materials and processes for the Terran R program. You will act as the M&P discipline expert, qualify weld materials for flight, and drive system-level requirements to enable reuse and reliability.

You will collaborate across welding, materials, design and manufacturing teams, develop specs, and push for cost-efficient, high-integrity weld solutions to support rapid manufacturing and ambitious

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in materials science or engineering or related field.
• 5+ years of relevant materials engineering experience.
• Experience in process-structure-property-performance problem solving to weld materials.
• Aerospace hardware M&P activities such as material selection and qualification.

Responsibilities

• Be the M&P discipline expert for weld materials & processes.
• Qualify weld materials and products for flight and reuse.
• Drive system-level requirements to qualify welded products for damage tolerance, inspection, flight, and reuse.
• Develop and maintain technical specs and standards for weld materials & processes.
• Collaborate with Weld Engineering, Materials Product Owners, Lab staff, Design and Manufacturing Engineers, and QA.

Skills

Materials engineering

Weld materials

Aerospace M&P activities

Cross-disciplinary collaboration

Accountability & teamwork

Fast-paced environment

Education

Bachelor’s degree in materials science or engineering

Tools

AWS D17.1/D17.2 knowledge

Non-destructive evaluation

Design allowable calculations

Job description

At Relativity Space, we’re building rockets to serve today’s needs and tomorrow’s breakthroughs. Our Terran R vehicle will deliver customer payloads to orbit, meeting the growing demand for launch capacity. But that’s just the start. Achieving commercial success with Terran R will unlock new opportunities to advance science, exploration, and innovation, pioneering progress that reaches beyond the known.

Joining Relativity means becoming part of something where autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level. Here, you're not just executing tasks; you're solving problems that haven’t been solved before, helping develop a rocket, a factory, and a business from the ground up. Whether you’re in propulsion, manufacturing, software, avionics, or a corporate function, you’ll collaborate across teams, shape decisions, and see your work come to life in record time. Relativity is a place where creativity and technical rigor go hand in hand, and your voice will help define the stories we’re writing together. Now is a unique moment in time where it’s early enough to leave your mark on the product, the process, and the culture, but far enough along that Terran R is tangible and picking up momentum. The most meaningful work of your career is waiting. Join us.

About The Team

The Materials and NDE (Non-Destructive Evaluation) team plays a central role in enabling Terran R to fly, re-fly, and scale: developing, characterizing, and inspecting materials and processes across all parts of the vehicle. From welding and additive manufacturing to advanced composites, the team works at the intersection of innovation and execution, balancing performance and reliability with cost, quality, and schedule. As we move toward first flight and beyond, the challenges become more exciting, offering opportunities to shape how we design and develop for re-use. With ownership across products, systems, and disciplines, engineers gain broad exposure and drive key decisions across design, manufacturing, and operations.

About The Role

• Be the M&P discipline expert for all weld materials & processes at Relativity Space
• Qualify weld materials and products for flight + reuse
• Drive system level requirements and workflows to qualify welded products for damage tolerant design, inspection, flight, and reuse
• Develop, implement, and maintain technical specifications and engineering standards for weld materials & processes
• Drive weld development + optimization in partnership with weld engineering
• Interface with:
• Weld Engineering to qualify and iterate weld processes
• Materials engineering product owners to qualify weld process usage through full product lifecycle, including failure analysis (part concept to retirement)
• Laboratory staff to characterize weld materials and processes
• Design Engineers for weld properties + allowables integration in product analysis and design
• Manufacturing Engineers to reduce cost + rate while maintaining needed performance from our weld materials
• Quality assurance to facilitate specification compliance validation across all weld processes
• Relativity + Customer Fracture Control Boards to achieve vehicle reuse with welded products
• Company Leadership to elevate risks and power through roadblocks

About You

• Bachelor’s degree in materials science or engineering, or related field
• 5+ years of relevant materials engineering experience
• Leveling is flexible and will be adjusted for candidates with more experience
• Experience in process-structure-property-performance problem solving to weld materials
• Experience with general aerospace hardware M&P activities, such as material selection, weld process development and qualification, damage tolerance, inspections, risk assessments, and failure analysis
• A core commitment to accountability, collaboration, and execution
• A desire to establish and foster strong interdisciplinary relationships across the company
• An authentic, introspective, and inclusive mindset towards technical, interpersonal, team growth, and development
• Passion to work in a fast-paced and challenging environment on constantly iterating launch vehicle products, driving big impact on critical program needs as we ramp manufacturing rate + achieve reuse

Nice To Haves, But Not Required

• Industry-leading experience in weld materials & processes for production of reusable aerospace parts
• Expertise in aerospace friction stir + fusion welding (Laser Welding, Orbital Tube Welding, EBW, GTAW, GMAW, etc.) and downstream effected processes (heat treat, coatings, passivation, precision cleaning, etc.)
• Expertise in applying AWS D17.1, D17.2, or internally developed requirements for weld process qualification of nickel, ferrous, aluminum, or titanium metal alloy systems
• Expertise in welded aerospace products (tubes, bellows, additively manufactured parts, plate/sheet/bar, forgings, castings)
• Knowledge of relevant materials engineering disciplines (media compatibility, non-destructive evaluation, corrosion, fatigue and damage tolerance)
• Expertise in statistical experimental design and design allowable calculation methodology

At Relativity Space, we are committed to transparency and fairness in our compensation practices. Actual compensation will be determined based on experience, qualifications, and other job-related factors.

Compensation is only one part of our total rewards package. Relativity Space offers competitive salary and equity, a generous PTO and sick leave policy, parental leave, an annual learning and development stipend, and more! To see some of the benefits & perks we offer, please visit here.

Hiring Range

$124,000—$186,000 USD

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

If you need a reasonable accommodation, please contact us at [e-mail].