Lead Materials R&D Technician (Materials Lab - Characterization) - Level 4/5

Responsibilities

• Daily assignment of work, ensuring proper balancing and bandwidth across the team
• Directly interface, coordinate, and align with area supervisor on weekly testing goals
• Cultivate and advance skillset of team members through training
• Enforce area safety and organization requirements and standards of work
• Proactively audit the lab for hazards, create safety nets, and follow through in bringing solutions to completion
• Model correct behaviors for taking care of the physical lab space and equipment and enforce this across the team
• Coordinate calibration and maintenance to minimize tool/test downtime
• Work with Supervisor on the team’s personnel training and development plans
• Identify and remove blockers that impact daily and weekly testing goals (i.e. stepping in to help, reverse shadowing, providing direct guidance, escalating, etc.)
• Propose and develop improvement projects (i.e. shop aids, potential process changes, tooling modifications, etc.) that improve testing efficiency, general safety, data quality, reliability, asset integrity and utilization, etc.
• Coordinate with internal customers to ensure that work is prioritized appropriately
• Complete personal queue of complex and advanced testing requests as necessary to support customers/team’s workload

Basic Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalency certificate
• 5+ years of experience working in an aerospace testing laboratory performing characterization testing with a focus on thermal instrumentation (i.e. DMA, TMA, DSC, TGA, LFA, etc.)
• Experience scheduling work and coordinating competing priorities
• Experience managing a team, people, or projects

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

• Proficient with computers with the ability to use MS Office, shop floor management software (ERP) and related programs
• Familiarity with multiple departments within SpaceX
• Familiarity with ASTM standard testing
• Leadership or mentoring experience

Additional Requirements

• Willing to work overtime and weekends as needed
• Able to travel for short trips as needed
• Able to wear appropriate PPE for mechanical testing and machine shop environment
• Able to lift 30 lbs. unassisted
• Standing for long periods of time, bending, grasping, sitting, pulling, pushing, stooping, and stretching are generally required to perform the functions of this position