Sr. Materials Engineer, Corrosion Control and Fluid Compatibility (Starmind)

Bastrop, TX · 5+ years experience · Posted Oct 14, 2026

At a glance

The Senior Materials Engineer will serve as the technical owner for corrosion control, chemical resistance, and liquid coolant compatibility for the Starmind satellite constellation.
This role involves defining specifications for base fluids, additives, and wetted materials while leading a comprehensive testing program to evaluate coolant quality and materials reliability for orbital compute hardware.

Own design criteria, selection, and reliability evaluations of materials used in liquid cooling systems.
Define and perform laboratory testing evaluating relevant corrosion mechanisms and long-duration chemical compatibility.
Define material and fluid performance requirements, specifications, validation approaches, and approval criteria.
Evaluate and down-select supplier technologies and formulations against performance, quality, cost, timing, and compliance objectives.
Drive material characterization and root cause analysis for failure resolution.
Define and execute experimental design and reliability campaigns for materials used in thermal management systems.

Bachelor’s degree in materials science, chemical engineering, corrosion engineering, or a STEM field.
5+ years of experience in chemical and fluids processing or thermal management systems.
Hands-on experience with materials selection, testing, manufacturing processes, fluid compatibility and corrosion evaluations.
Must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident, refugee, or asylee to conform to U.S. Government export regulations (ITAR).

Master’s degree or PhD in materials science, chemical engineering, corrosion engineering, or a STEM field.
Strong understanding of chemical compatibility, corrosion mechanisms, coolant formulation, contaminant analysis, and the effects of vacuum, radiation, thermal cycling, and microgravity.
Broad knowledge of thermal control systems, coolants, radiators, and/or two-phase systems.
Experience with spacecraft thermal control systems, satellite/ISS/CubeSat fluids, or space-qualified coolants.
Experience coordinating material trials with process engineering, equipment suppliers, and material vendors.
Demonstrated ability to lead structured root cause analysis (e.g., DOE, 5-why, fishbone, fault-tree).
Experience working in a high-volume manufacturing or assembly environment.
Experience mentoring engineers, technicians, interns, or new hires.

Willingness to travel to other SpaceX sites and/or vendors for significant or extended periods (up to 25%).