Senior Friction Stir Weld Engineer

Company Overview:  

At Relativity Space, we have two audacious goals: to build the next great commercial launch company with Terran R and to become America's leading force in additive manufacturing innovation. Both contribute to our long-term vision of creating humanity’s industrial base on Mars, paving the way for interplanetary life to expand the possibilities of the human experience. This journey begins right here on Earth – where we design, build, and fly rockets to deliver customer payloads to orbit. Terran R, our medium-to-heavy lift reusable rocket, fulfills the growing demand for launch capacity, thanks to our iterative approach that accelerates design, testing, and development while minimizing costs. While our groundbreaking research and development in 3D printing pushes the boundaries of large-scale additive manufacturing.

Your journey with us is more than just a job – it’s an opportunity to shape the future of aerospace technology, additive manufacturing, and the human experience alongside a community of passionate, creative individuals. Join us on this extraordinary journey, as we work together to transform our vision into reality.

About the Team:  

The Materials & Processes team is responsible for the development, characterization, and inspection of materials across the Terran-R launch vehicle. We specialize in rapid implementation of material systems through robust internal testing capabilities and first principles driven qualification approaches. We have recently made our first friction stir welded primary structure barrel, supported introduction of next generation powder additive alloys in the Aeon-R engine, and developed 100% in-cell NDE inspection capabilities for WAAM manufactured hardware.

About the Role: 

• Assist in designing and manufacturing of welded assemblies including first builds of the Terran-R launch vehicle
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including tooling, manufacturing, non-destructive evaluation, and materials to accelerate manufacturing of welded designs
• Develop, qualify and optimize friction stir weld schedules
• Provide technical support, troubleshooting, problem-solving and root cause analysis to support weld related production issues
• Ensure process quality control and documentation meets required standards and specifications, implement corrective actions and continuous improvements to maintain high-quality outputs
• Multi-task and balance priorities based off input from multiple departments

About You:  

• B.S. in Welding Engineering, Welding Technology, or Engineering degree with relevant experience
• 3+ years of friction stir welding experience or 5+ years of other welding experience
• Experience developing weld schedules or processes
• Knowledge of Industry standards (AWS D17.1, D17.3, D1.1, etc.)
• Hands-on experience with friction stir welding

Nice to haves but not required:  

• Cross-functional knowledge of fabrication and metal working methods such as cutting, grinding and bending
• Strong knowledge of tooling and fixturing for welded structures
• Excellent trouble shooting and problem solving skills
• Strong ability to multi-task and balance input from multiple departments
  

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.