Senior Engineer, Materials (Aerospace)

Location: Knoxville, Tennessee, United States; this role is located at the Knoxville facility. U.S. citizenship is required, and the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government-issued security clearance is required.

Company

hirify.global develops jet propulsion systems for unmanned aerial defense by integrating additive manufacturing and manufacturing exclusively in the USA.

What you will do

• Serve as a technical authority for aerospace-grade metals, powder characterization, heat treatment development, material qualification, and additive manufacturing workflows.
• Define material strategies, roadmaps, characterization protocols, specifications, powder controls, heat treatment standards, and technical documentation.
• Lead development and qualification of production-ready processing specifications, including hot isostatic pressing, heat treatment, and surface finishing.
• Resolve complex challenges involving powder metallurgy, solidification, microstructural evolution, thermal history, defects, and mechanical performance.
• Integrate materials engineering into post-processing, machining, non-destructive testing, inspection, and quality management workflows.
• Guide cross-functional teams, mentor engineers and materials specialists, support supplier and laboratory decisions, and represent materials expertise with leadership, customers, suppliers, and government or industry partners.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Materials Science & Engineering, Metallurgy, Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Minimum of 5 years of related experience, or 3 years with a Master’s degree, or a PhD without experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience developing, characterizing, and qualifying high-performance metallic materials and heat treatments for production applications.
• Experience leading complex materials engineering tasks, failure analyses, and material selection efforts on engineering programs.
• Experience supporting aerospace, defense, or other highly regulated industries governed by strict quality and material specifications.
• Advanced knowledge of powder metallurgy, physical and extractive metallurgy, phase transformations, microstructure-property relationships, and heat treatment of aerospace alloys, including nickel, titanium, aluminum, steel, or refractory alloys.
• Deep understanding of ASTM, SAE/AMS, and ISO material testing standards and metallurgical analysis techniques, including SEM, EDS, EBSD, metallography, CT scanning, hardness, tensile, fatigue, and creep testing.
• Experience developing material specifications, powder handling and qualification controls, and heat treatment parameters for additively manufactured parts.
• Strong background in design of experiments, statistical process control, and failure analysis methods including root cause analysis.
• Ability to establish technical direction, solve multifaceted engineering challenges, drive cross-functional decisions, communicate complex material performance trade-offs, and mentor engineers.
• U.S. citizenship and the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government-issued security clearance.

Nice to have

• Master’s degree or PhD in Engineering, Metallurgy, Materials Engineering, or a related field.
• Experience qualifying additive manufacturing materials for propulsion systems, turbomachinery, or high-temperature defense applications.
• Familiarity with Metal Binder Jetting, Laser Powder Bed Fusion, Direct Energy Deposition, or Electron Beam Melting.
• Familiarity with hot isostatic pressing, chemical or mechanical surface treatments, investment casting, and machining.
• Experience managing external metallurgical testing vendors, powder suppliers, or Nadcap-accredited testing facilities.
• Contributions to patents, peer-reviewed publications, technical conference presentations, or industry consensus standards such as ASTM F42 or SAE AMS-AM.

Culture & Benefits

• Full-time salaried employment with bonus eligibility and company equity.
• Medical, dental, life, and short- and long-term disability coverage from day one.
• 401(k) retirement savings plan with company matching.
• Inclusive equal-opportunity workplace focused on advancing the U.S. defense industrial base.