Senior Materials & Processes Engineer, Turbomachinery
How this pay compares
This posting states $124k–$186k a year. Open materials engineer jobs in California post a median of $153k a year, the middle half $127k–$170k, across 26 jobs that state their pay, so this one is within the middle half of what they post.
Materials engineers and chemists in California: pay by town and employer
About the job
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 - Be the M&P owner of reusable Liquid Propulsion Turbomachinery Products, Materials Systems, and Disciplines - Qualify turbomachinery materials and products for flight + reuse - Develop, implement, and maintain technical specifications and engineering standards - Drive statistically-driven experimental design and process improvement campaigns - Interface with: - Materials engineering staff to identify, define, and fill critical turbomachinery technology gaps - Laboratory staff to characterize materials and processes - Design Engineers for product materials selection, allowables development, analysis, qualification, flight, and reuse - Manufacturing Engineers to reduce cost + rate while maintaining needed performance for turbomachinery products - Quality assurance to facilitate specification compliance validation - Propulsion Engineers to perform failure analysis, root cause and corrective action campaigns when turbomachinery parts fail in service - Relativity + Customer Fracture Control Boards to achieve vehicle reuse - Company Leadership to elevate risks and power through roadblocks ## About You - Bachelor’s degree in materials science or engineering, or related field - 5+ years of relevant turbomachinery materials experience - Leveling is flexible and will be adjusted for candidates with more experience - Experience with general propulsion hardware M&P activities, such as material selection, qualification, damage tolerance, inspections, risk assessments, and failure analysis - Experience performing material and part qualifications for either AM laser powder bed fusion systems or traditional material forming (wrought, forgings, castings) - A core commitment to accountability, collaboration, and execution - A desire to establish and foster strong interdisciplinary relationships across the company - An authentic, introspective, and inclusive mindset towards technical, interpersonal, team growth, and development - Passion to work in a fast-paced and challenging environment on constantly iterating turbomachinery products + processes, driving big impact on critical program needs as we ramp manufacturing rate + achieve reuse Nice to haves, but not required: - Deep understanding of turbomachinery within reusable aerospace or rocket engines and all associated materials challenges - Expertise in nickel, ferrous, aluminum, or titanium alloy systems - Metallic additive manufacturing M&P expertise with Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) - Metallic wrought, forging, or casting M&P expertise - Metallic fusion welding M&P expertise in Laser Welding, EBW, GTAW, GMAW, etc. - Knowledge of surface modification processes and coatings relevant to inhibit surface damage + corrosion of reusable turbomachinery parts - Statistical experimental design and design allowable calculation methodology expertise 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 $124,000 - $186,000 USD
From Relativity Space's job posting, checked 7 Nov 2026. The employer's own page is the final word on requirements and availability.
Selected agencies hiring now
Contract Professionals Inc (CPI)Engineering and technical staffing agency
Aerospace and defense staffing firm in Waterford, Michigan, placing engineers, maintenance technicians, mechanics, welders and CNC machinists.
Places: Propulsion, Mechanical, Avionics, RF & Payloads
Moseley Technical ServicesEngineering and technical staffing agency
Engineering and technical staffing firm in Huntsville, Alabama, placing engineers and A&P, sheet metal, CNC and quality technicians.
Places: Propulsion, Mechanical, Avionics, RF & Payloads
These agencies and apps pay SpaceJobs.Now a referral fee when someone we introduce is placed or signs up. It costs you nothing and never changes your pay. Employers' own jobs below keep their own order.
Sponsored jobs from job networks, which pay SpaceJobs.Now when you click one.
Free tools for this application: check your resume against this job, answer the application's questions or see every free tool.
New mechanical, structures and thermal engineering jobs in space in California, by email
One email a week with the newest ones, straight from the employers' own careers sites, with the pay each posting states. Free, stop anytime.
About Relativity Space
Builds reusable rockets that make access to space more reliable and routine.
Pay on its listings: 99.7% of its open jobs state an hourly rate
How it pays: Paid as an employee on Relativity Space's own payroll (salaried or hourly, as each posting states).
More open jobs at Relativity Space
- Vehicle Structures Engineer I (Heat Shield)$90,000–$136,000/yr
- EHS Specialist II - Environmental Compliance$74,000–$112,000/yr
- Senior Manufacturing Engineer, Mechanisms$122,000–$182,000/yr
- Propulsion Integration & Test Engineer I, First shift$93,000–$139,000/yr
- Relativity Space Hiring Event | Long Beach | Nov. 19th
- Staff Technical Product Manager, Configuration Management$175,000–$263,000/yr
More mechanical, structures and thermal engineering jobs in space
- Loads & Dynamics Engineer (Starshield)$100,000–$160,000/yr
- Spacecraft Dynamics Engineer$136,000–$220,000/yr
- Senior Spacecraft Mechanical Engineer$150,000–$200,000/yr
- Senior Spacecraft Mechanical Engineer - Composites and Structures$175,000–$215,000/yr
- Vehicle Structures Engineer I (Heat Shield)$90,000–$136,000/yr
- Strength Analyst 3$99,604–$166,007/yr
A mechanical, structures or thermal engineer?
One profile for every employer here. Space companies and their recruiters ask us for people with a specific degree, clearance, specialty or location: add yours once, and when a job fits, we introduce you, only with your yes. Free.
Relativity Space openings, sent to you weekly
Each week we send the newest postings from Relativity Space's own careers site, along with similar openings at other space employers. It costs nothing and you can stop anytime.