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 to develop our ground and launch infrastructure in this endeavor. 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 key team member focusing on daily lab operations to support material & process developments, failure investigations, process control validation, and more. A basic understanding of material science, as well as, experience in a lab environment is preferred although not required.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Develop operational proficiency of analytical instruments in Cape Canaveral materials lab to support characterization testing of metallic and non-metallic materials
• Perform sample preparation, thermal and chemical analysis, and microscopy of material specimens; sample preparation may involve machining, epoxy mounting, chemical etching and mechanical polishing
• Maintain lab supplies, raw materials, solvents, and cleanliness / organization of lab area
• Ensure instrumentation is properly maintained and calibrated
• Summarize data and document results in an organized and thorough manner for engineering review

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• High school diploma or equivalency certificate
• 1+ years of hands-on experience in 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, etc.
• Familiarity running thermal and chemical characterization equipment, such as SEM/EDS, FTIR, DSC, and TGA
• Some college experience in chemistry, physics, engineering, or material 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 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