Lead Additive Manufacturing Materials Engineer

Job Summary

Eaton’s AER HQ Headquarters Aerospace division is seeking a Lead Additive Manufacturing Materials Engineer. The role supports the Chief Material Engineer as the AM metal expert for DDAMC, providing materials & processes (M&P) support to the manufacturing and engineering personnel of our Aerospace AM Group.

Job Responsibilities

• Technical & Process Leadership:

  • Provide metallurgical technical support for strategic AM modalities such as laser powder bed fusion (PBF-L) and electron beam powder bed fusion (PBF-EB) technologies for Aerospace applications.
  • Manage external M&P suppliers including raw material/feedstock, heat treatment, surface finishing, and test labs.
  • Oversee some of the day-to-day operation, maintain a quality system in the materials lab, ensure safe work practices are maintained, and drive future expansion at the facility to add capacity and material characterization capability.
  • Support or drive the qualification of new, advanced materials/metals and manufacturing processes for high-performance applications such as Aerospace.

• Materials Leadership:

  • Support and/or lead M&P work for new AM processes, implement installation and qualification of new machines needed to grow and sustain AM Group.
  • Support and own government-funded projects aligned with the AM M&P strategy and in collaboration with the ERL.
  • Apply a fundamental understanding of heat treatment processes, industrial surface finishing methods, material characterization/metallography techniques, and mechanical and physical testing methods.
  • Monitor and implement AM-related industry specifications, which may include representing Eaton on working groups championing, revising and/or adding key specifications.
  • Prepare and issue engineering reports summarizing key results and recommendations.

• Business & Organizational Leadership:

  • Ability to manage multiple projects/activities; results driven.
  • Communicate both orally and in writing within and outside of the AM Group and other Aerospace departments and cognizant engineers in a precise, logical, informative, and tactful manner.
  • Troubleshoot, support, and/or lead material, process and product-related root cause corrective action (RCCA) projects.
  • Create, manage, and execute on new AM M&P projects established through the Eaton Profit Planning process.
  • Advocate for AM Continuous Improvement (CI) for LPBF and EB modalities.
  • Participates as an active member in Rapid Improvement Events (RIE) to eliminate waste and drive standardization.

Qualifications

• Basic Qualifications:

  • Bachelor of Science Degree in Materials/Metallurgical Engineering or Material Science from an accredited institution.
  • 5+ years experience in a production setting supporting advanced manufacturing such as metal 3D printing modalities.
  • Hands-on experience with material characterization techniques (e.g., metallography, SEM, chemical analysis) and interpretation of results.

• Preferred Qualifications:

  • Advanced degree (MS, PhD) is a plus.
  • Experience with mechanical/material property testing that align with industry specifications.
  • Experience with statistical analysis to define trends and summarize material property results and process performance/health (familiar with Minitab or equivalent statistical analysis software).

Skills

• Expertise with aluminum and titanium AM material systems is preferred.
• Problem-solving methodologies and risk assessment tools (e.g., Six Sigma, 8D, RCCA, PFMEA).
• Proficient in the use of MS Office.
• Familiar/experienced with the use of Minitab, FEA software.