Staff Materials & Processes Engineer, Structural Composites

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: 

• Research, trade, and select composite material and processes for structural applications


• Identify qualification envelopes, form test plans, and execute characterization campaigns


• Develop, implement, and maintain technical specifications and engineering standards


• Drive statistically-driven experimental design and process improvement campaigns


• Interface with:
  
  
  
  • Materials engineering staff to identify, define, and fill technology gaps
  
  
  • Laboratory staff to characterize materials and processes
  
  
  • Designers to support materials selection, allowables development, and analysis
  
  
  • Manufacturing engineering to improve processes, troubleshoot issues and facilitate operations
  
  
  • Quality assurance to drive specification compliance and process audits
  
  
  • Product engineering to lead failure analyses and root cause and corrective action campaigns
  
  
  • Leadership to elevate risks and overcome roadblocks
  
  
  
  

About you:  

• Bachelor’s degree in materials science or engineering, or related field


• 8+ years of experience relevant to the competencies listed below


• A strong 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, and team growth and development

Nice to haves, but not required:  

• Experience with carbon fiber reinforced structural composite material and process systems


• Prior knowledge of structural composite characterization, testing standards, and processing


• Experience developing composite design allowables (e.g. CMH-17)


• Expertise in statistical experimental design and process control


• Leveling is flexible – please see other posting levels for expectations

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 [email protected].