Surfaces Engineering Co-Op

NOVELIS; Kennesaw (GA); On-site; USD 25,000 - 39,000; Full time

Job summary

Novelis is inviting a co-op student to join the Surface team in Kennesaw, GA for approximately 6 months starting May 2027. You will connect lubricant properties with aluminum forming performance through hands-on experiments, including applying lubricants, forming parts, and characterizing surfaces.

The role emphasizes experimental design, data analysis, and reporting, with a focus on safety and independent work in a collaborative environment.

Qualifications

• Currently enrolled in an accredited bachelor’s, master’s, or Ph.D. program in materials science, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, or a related technical discipline, with a minimum GPA of 3.5.
• Must be currently authorized to work in the United States for any employer.
• Commitment to following all laboratory safety requirements and procedures.
• Experience with hypothesis-driven experimental design and data analysis.
• Background in materials characterization, surface science or metal forming.
• Attention to detail and ability to work independently.
• Strong teamwork, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
• Good verbal and written communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Measure key lubricant properties, including lubricity, wetting behavior, and load-bearing performance.
• Apply thin lubricant coatings to aluminum sheet.
• Form aluminum parts using forming equipment.
• Evaluate the surface quality of formed aluminum samples using techniques such as surface topography and SEM.
• Correlate lubricant properties with forming performance to guide future lubricant selection.
• Summarize data and generate reports.

Skills

Materials science

Experimental design

Data analysis

Teamwork

Communication

Education

Bachelor/Master/PhD in materials science, chemical/mechanical engineering

Tools

Origin

Python

MATLAB

Job description

Position Overview

Novelis is one of the world leaders in aluminum recycling and rolling and a leading sustainable aluminum solutions provider. Driven by our purpose of shaping a sustainable world together, we work alongside our customers to provide innovative solutions to the aerospace, automotive, beverage packaging and specialty markets. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Novelis has approximately 13,000 employees in 32 operating facilities on 4 continents.

Responsibilities & Qualifications

The Surface team, located in Kennesaw GA, has an opportunity to participate in our 2027 co-op program. The team is seeking a co‑op student who can join the team for approximately 6 months starting May 2027. This role will establish the capability to connect lubricant properties with aluminum forming performance through hands‑on experiments, including applying lubricants to aluminum sheet, forming aluminum parts, and characterizing aluminum surfaces.

Responsibilities

• Measure key lubricant properties, including lubricity, wetting behavior, and load‑bearing performance.
• Apply thin lubricant coatings to aluminum sheet.
• Form aluminum parts using forming equipment.
• Evaluate the surface quality of formed aluminum samples using techniques such as surface topography and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
• Correlate lubricant properties with forming performance to guide future lubricant selection.
• Summarize data and generate reports.

Minimum qualifications

• Currently enrolled in an accredited bachelor’s, master’s, or Ph.D. program in materials science, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, or a related technical discipline, with a minimum GPA of 3.5.
• Must be currently authorized to work in the United States for any employer.

• Commitment to following all laboratory safety requirements and procedures.
• Experience with hypothesis‑driven experimental design and data analysis.
• Background in materials characterization, surface science or metal forming.
• Attention to detail and ability to work independently.
• Strong teamwork, critical thinking, and problem‑solving skills.
• Good verbal and written communication skills.

Preferred qualifications

• Graduate students are preferred.
• Experience with aluminum alloys, sheet metal forming, surface characterization, lubricant or coating application methods.
• One or more years of hands‑on laboratory research experience.
• Familiarity with Origin, Python, MATLAB or other data analysis tools for organizing experimental data, calculating trends, and summarizing results.

*Please note that we are unable to provide visa sponsorship for this position. Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States without the need for current or future sponsorship

Location Profile

Novelis’ Global Research and Technology Center located in Kennesaw Georgia within the greater Atlanta metropolitan area is a cutting‑edge full‑service research and technology hub that employs approximately 200 people including world‑class engineers metallurgists chemists scientists technologists and technicians. The facility includes state‑of‑the‑art lab equipment and a diverse mix of product pilot lines that bring innovative solutions to customers in the automotive beverage can and specialty markets. Kennesaw provides a diverse and family‑friendly place to live with countless museums cultural opportunities and educational institutions. Novelis is committed to the Kennesaw community and supports a number of local charitable organizations including Habitat for Humanity as well as FIRST Robotics aimed at encouraging young people to pursue the Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields in order to spur the next generation of scientists and innovators.

Novelis recognizes its talented and diverse workforce as a key competitive advantage. Novelis provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants. All terms and conditions of employment at Novelis including recruiting hiring placement promotion termination layoffs recalls transfers leaves of absence compensation and training are without regard to race color religion age sex national origin disability status genetics protected veteran status sexual orientation gender identity or expression or any other characteristic protected by federal provincial or local laws.

Disclaimer

We encourage all potential candidates to follow the protocols below and to be diligent when sharing any personal information:1. Check the job posting is live and valid via our careers page: Careers - Novelis2. Verify any communication with us by contacting our talent team at Careers - Novelis