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Senior Materials & Joining Engineer

Reports to: Business Line Manager    

About the Role:

We are a Southern California contract manufacturer specializing in the joining of dissimilar materials via brazing. This is a hands-on, highly technical role for an engineer who lives and breathes joining processes, someone who can serve as the resident subject matter expert on our floor, drive R&D projects from prototype through serial production and bring the depth of knowledge our work demands.

We are specifically seeking a candidate whose core expertise is in materials science and joining technologies, brazing first and foremost, with the credibility to lead, advise, and mentor on the production floor and in customer-facing technical discussions.

What You Will Own:

Brazing & Joining Process Authority:

• Serve as the on-site subject matter expert for all brazing and dissimilar material joining operations
• Develop, document, and optimize brazing procedures for production and new program introduction
• Define filler metal selection, flux selection, atmosphere/temperature profiles, and fixturing approaches
• Troubleshoot joint failures, porosity, wetting issues, and thermal distortion; root cause to corrective action
• Maintain and expand internal brazing process knowledge base

R&D to Serial Production:

• Lead new joining process development from feasibility through production readiness
• Define process qualification criteria and execute first article / process validation activities
• Drive PFMEA, control plans, and process documentation for new programs
• Partner with quality and operations to ensure processes are repeatable, measurable, and manufacturable at rate
• Identify and close gaps between prototype intent and production reality, early and often

GD&T / Design for Manufacturability

• Review customer drawings and specifications for DFM and producibility relative to brazing and joining operations
• Identify and escalate tolerance stack-ups, joint accessibility issues, and material incompatibilities at the quoting stage
• Communicate design intent clearly across engineering, quality, and production teams
• Mentor younger engineers on GD&T interpretation and the relationship between design intent and joining process outcomes

Technical Leadership & Mentorship:

• Provide technical guidance to production floor teams on joining processes and quality standards
• Support customer technical reviews, PPAP activities, and supplier qualification efforts
• Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives tied to yield, throughput, and scrap reduction
• Help build and formalize the site's technical capability via documenting what has historically existed only as tribal knowledge

What We Are Looking For:

Required:

• 8–12 years of experience in materials joining engineering, with brazing as a primary area of expertise
• Demonstrated hands-on experience with brazing of dissimilar material combinations (metals, ceramics, or composites)
• Deep understanding of filler metals, flux systems, atmosphere furnace brazing, and torch/induction brazing processes
• Proficiency in reading and interpreting engineering drawings per ASME Y14.5 (GD&T)
• Experience taking joining processes from prototype or R&D phase into repeatable serial production
• Strong root cause analysis and corrective action skills (you've diagnosed real joint failures under production pressure)
• Ability to communicate technical concepts clearly to non-engineers, customers, and production personnel

Strongly Preferred:

• Experience with aerospace, defense, or high-reliability manufacturing environments
• Familiarity with AMS, AWS, or MIL-spec brazing standards
• Background with dissimilar metal combinations such as stainless-to-copper, titanium-to-ceramic, or similar
• AWS Certified Brazing Engineer (CBE) or equivalent credential
• Experience supporting AS9100 or NADCAP quality systems
• Working knowledge of PFMEA, control plans, and APQP processes

You Are Probably a Fit If...

• You are most comfortable when you are on the floor rather than in a conference room
• You have opinions about filler metal selection and can defend them with data
• You have caught a tolerance callout that would have made a joint impossible to produce and said something!
• You appreciate tribal knowledge and enjoy documenting and systematizing that knowledge for repeatability
• You take pride in building the technical credibility of the teams around you

What This Role Is Not:
This is not a generalist engineering position. This is not a structural or mechanical engineering role. Candidates with general manufacturing or ME backgrounds without specific joining process expertise are unlikely to be competitive. We respect the GD&T and aerospace ME skillset; it is simply not the core gap we are filling.

We are looking for the person who, when presented with a brazed joint failure, immediately starts asking about time-temperature profiles, filler metal activity, surface preparation, and joint clearance, not one who reaches for FEA software.
 

What We Offer:

• A technically challenging environment where joining expertise is genuinely valued and visible
• Opportunity to build and shape the materials engineering function from the ground up
• Direct influence on R&D direction and new program development
• Competitive compensation commensurate with senior-level technical expertise
• On-site role in Southern California with a lean, hands-on team

Total Rewards:
The compensation range for this position is $139,900 - $209,900, depending on experience. It needs to be understood that is not normal practice for a position to start at the top of the range.  This position is eligible for performance-based bonus plan.

Benefits Package:

Our comprehensive U.S. benefit offerings include: Health benefits, 401(k) retirement savings program with company match, PTO, and more.

More information on our benefits and rewards can be found on our career page:

https://www.idexcorp.com/careers/our-benefit-and-rewards/

Work Environment & Physical Demands:

Work environments and physical demands vary by role and may include:

• Use of personal protective equipment (PPE) or safety gear, provided by STC.
• A combination of seated and standing work; walking for moderate to extended periods.
• Fine motor skills, hand–eye coordination, and visual focus for detailed tasks, including tool use, computer work, or microscope inspection.
• Exposure to repetitive motions; adaptive devices or reasonable accommodation may be provided as needed.
• Deadlines, shifting priorities, and peak workloads that may create a fast-paced environment.

Manufacturing & Production Areas:

• Work performed on the shop floor, in climate-controlled spaces, or clean rooms. Some areas may be noisy, dusty, or warm.
• Mandatory use of job-specific PPE and machine guards.
• Occasional bending, squatting, reaching, and lifting up to 50 lbs.; some roles require pushing loaded carts.

Maintenance & C1D2 Workspaces:

• Includes all manufacturing/production requirements, plus additional PPE such as ESD shoes, coveralls, gloves, and full-face respirators.

Office & Sales Roles:

• Climate-controlled office setting with occasional visits to production areas.
• Occasional bending, squatting, reaching, and lifting up to 25 lbs.
• May require travel by air or car to attend conferences or visit customer sites.
• Remote/home office environments may vary.

Superior Technical Ceramics Corporation is an equal opportunity employer and offers employment opportunity to all qualified persons without regard to race, creed, color, religious belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, ancestry, place of birth, physical or mental disability, or veteran status

Are you ready to join a different kind of company where our people, our culture, and our commitments are centered around providing trusted solutions that improve lives around the world?

Total Rewards

Benefits Package

Our comprehensive U.S. benefit offerings include: Health benefits, 401(k) retirement savings program with company match, PTO, and more. More information on our benefits and rewards can be found on our career page: https://www.idexcorp.com/careers/our-benefits-and-rewards/

IDEX is an Equal Opportunity Employer. IDEX gives consideration for employment to qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, creed, genetic information, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, age, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other consideration or protected category made unlawful by federal, state or local laws.

Attention Applicants:  If you are an individual with a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process, please let us know. Likewise, if you are limited in the ability to access or use this online application process and need an alternative method for applying, we will determine an alternate way for you to apply. Please contact our Talent Acquisition Team at [email protected] for assistance with an accommodation. These contact tools may be used only by individuals with a disability for accommodation requests. Do not inquire as to the status of an application.

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