Materials R&D Technician
About The Position
In this role as a Materials R&D Technician, you will focus on daily lab operations to support materials and process development, failure investigations, process control validation, and more—for Starlink user terminals, gateways, printed circuit boards, panel-level packaging, and solar products. Hands-on laboratory experience is required. A basic understanding of materials science fundamentals is preferred. The ideal candidate is highly skilled in setting up, operating, maintaining, and troubleshooting laboratory equipment. Success in this role requires being hands-on, flexible, a quick learner, organized, detail-oriented, and having a collaborative, results-oriented attitude.
Requirements
- High school diploma or equivalency certificate.
- 1+ years of materials testing experience in a laboratory environment.
Nice To Haves
- Associate degree in an applied science field or 2+ years of professional experience in a lab environment.
- Knowledge of safe work practices in environments involving furnaces, environmental chambers, saws, solvents, acids/bases, etc.
- Understanding of basic materials science fundamentals.
- Experience setting up and running tests and experiments.
- Positive attitude and experience working on cross-functional teams.
- Strong attention to detail when executing test instructions.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Atlassian JIRA, and work order systems.
- Strong interpersonal and verbal communication skills to collaborate closely with engineering teams.
- Strong organizational skills to keep work areas tidy and manage workflow.
- Creative approach to problem-solving, with a willingness to learn and try new things.
- Experience using various hand tools and/or power tools.
Responsibilities
- Maintain safe and efficient operations by enforcing proper workflow, safety, cleanliness, organization, and inventory control of lab consumables.
- Support maintenance and calibration needs of lab instrumentation.
- Ensure proper and consistent sample preparation and traceability for materials testing.
- Calibrate, maintain, troubleshoot, and operate thermoanalytical equipment (DSC, DMA, TGA, TMA); microscopy tools (FTIR, Raman, SEM/EDS); RF equipment (VNAs, dielectric testers); optical spectroscopy equipment (spectrophotometers, ellipsometers, photoluminescence) and mechanical test frames.
- Prepare reports on generated materials test data. Provide basic interpretations of results to requesters and flag off-nominal results for engineering review.
- Summarize data and document results in an organized and thorough manner.
- Develop, author, and implement standard operating procedures.
- Manage lab backlog and ensure requests are performed according to program priorities.
- Champion larger-scale lab improvement initiatives while completing day-to-day test requests.
- Promote 5S principles for organizing and sustaining a clean, tidy workspace.
- Properly use and maintain precision-calibrated tools, such as micrometers and calipers, to ensure accurate measurements.
- Familiarize yourself with relevant ASTM, ISO, and IPC standards.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Entry Level
Education Level
High school or GED
