Materials & Processes Technical Specialist II

relativity

Long Beach, California · Long Beach · United States

Posted Jul 29, 2026

Other
Materials and Non-Destructive Engineering

Job description

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:

A core member of a small team with passion for extreme environment materials innovation
Key responsibilities include:
- Materials and process design, prototyping, testing, and documentation
- Thermal protection sub-system/hardware design and prototyping, coupon fabrication, testing and documentation
Serve as the subject matter expert for troubleshooting high temperature composites challenges
Share hands-on knowledge and deep technical insights to drive problem resolution across the team
Mentor/train new team members in mastering skills and processes; set and demonstrate high standards of quality and consistency
Advise and assist the program manager on day-to-day lab operations
Contribute as a member of the Materials Discovery team to ensure overall mission success

About You:

An Associate’s Degree in Natural Science, Materials, or related field
10+ years of hands-on experience in aerospace high temperature materials processing and testing:
- Lamination, honeycomb core assembly, final bagging, de-tooling, resin infusion
- Filament winding, Polymer Infiltration and Pyrolysis (PIP), Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD), bond-prep/surface prep.
- Thermal Protection Systems-Heat shields, TPS tiles, ablative materials, ceramic matrix composites (CMC), cork Bonding, silicone adhesives-RTV's
- Composite panel layup fabrication and surface preparation techniques
Experienced in advanced heatshield composite processing and machining

Nice to haves but not required:

Experience in operating thermal, mechanical and chemical testing instruments such as DSC, LFA, TGA, Dilatometer and Instron load frames to perform high precision testing
CAD and software skills

At Relativity Space, we are committed to transparency and fairness in our compensation practices. Actual compensation will be determined based on experience, qualifications, and other job-related factors.

Compensation is only one part of our total rewards package. Relativity Space offers competitive salary and equity, a generous PTO and sick leave policy, parental leave, an annual learning and development stipend, and more! To see some of the benefits & perks we offer, please visit here.

Hiring Range:

$38.40—$57.60 USD

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 accommodations@relativityspace.com.

Please note: Relativity Space does not accept unsolicited resumes, candidate profiles, or referrals from recruitment agencies or search firms. Any unsolicited submission - via email, our website, social media, or directly to an employee - will be deemed the property of Relativity Space, and no fee will be owed absent a current, fully executed agreement with Talent Acquisition that specifically authorizes submissions for the applicable role.