Materials Lab Technician

MATERIALS LAB TECHNICIAN 

As SpaceX seeks to make life multi-planetary, maintaining and increasing our launch capabilities and cadence at Cape Canaveral has become critical. We are looking for a highly motivated technician to join the Cape Canaveral materials engineering team in a laboratory-based role performing multi-disciplinary materials characterization testing. The successful candidate will be a key team member focused on daily lab operations to support material & process developments, failure investigations, process control validation, and qualifications. A basic understanding of materials science and laboratory practices is strongly preferred. 

RESPONSIBILITIES: 

• Develop operational proficiency of analytical instruments in the Cape Canaveral materials lab to support characterization testing of metallic and non-metallic materials 
• Perform sample preparation including sectioning, epoxy mounting, mechanical polishing, chemical etching, and machining as required for metallographic, mechanical, and analytical testing 
• Operate and maintain instrumentation including SEM/EDS, FTIR, DSC, TGA, and XRF 
• Maintain lab supplies, raw materials, solvents, and cleanliness/organization of the lab area 
• Summarize data and document results in an organized and thorough manner for engineering review, maintaining accurate records in accordance with quality and traceability requirements 
• Support material identification and qualification, failure investigations, and process control validation activities as needed 

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS: 

• High school diploma or equivalency certificate 
• 1+ years of hands-on experience in a manufacturing or laboratory environment 

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE: 

• Ability to learn and retain scientific concepts 
• Understanding of safe work practices in an environment with furnaces, saws, solvents, acids/bases, and mechanical testing equipment 
• Familiarity running thermal, chemical, and mechanical characterization equipment such as SEM/EDS, FTIR, DSC, TGA, XRF, XRD, ICP, salt fog chambers, hardness testers, and tensile testing equipment 
• Some college experience in chemistry, physics, engineering, or materials science 
• Experience setting up and running tests and experiments 
• Ability to maintain rigorous attention to detail when executing test instructions 
• Strong computer skills including experience with Microsoft Office suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook), Atlassian JIRA, and work order systems 
• Strong interpersonal and verbal communication skills to work closely with the engineering group 
• Ability to read and understand testing specifications 
• Strong organizational skills to keep work area tidy and organize workflow 
• Creative approach to problem solving, with willingness to learn and try new things 
• Experience using various types of hand tools and/or power tools 

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS: 

• Able to work off-shifts and available for overtime and weekends if needed 
• Able to wear appropriate PPE for lab and machine shop environment 
• Able to lift a minimum of 50 lbs. unassisted. Lifting, standing, bending, grasping, sitting, pulling, pushing, stooping, stretching, and carrying are generally required to perform the functions of this position 
• Ability to pass Air Force background check for Cape Canaveral