Manufacturing Engineer - Propellant Mixing & Casting

About the role

Castelion is bringing a new approach to defense development and production: one that focuses on short, iterative design cycles, rapid testing in development, and modern commercial manufacturing strategies for production at scale. We are designing, building, and testing next generation long range strike weapons systems to give America and its Allies a definitive edge and deter future conflicts.

Responsibilities

• Assist in the day-to-day execution of propellant mixing, vacuum casting, and curing operations following established procedures and safety protocols.
• Support process development by running small-scale mixing trials, collecting rheology and temperature data, and documenting results.
• Help troubleshoot common casting defects (voids, cracks, unbonded areas) by performing root-cause analysis with guidance from senior team members.
• Operate and maintain mixing equipment, vacuum systems, ovens, and basic inspection tools.
• Contribute to the creation and revision of standard operating procedures (SOPs), work instructions, and process control documentation.
• Support scale-up activities by helping specify fixtures, tooling, and layout improvements for higher-rate production.
• Work closely with Quality Assurance, EHS (Environment, Health & Safety), and senior engineers on non-conformance investigations and corrective actions.
• Aid in new product introduction (NPI) tasks such as qualification casting runs, PFMEA updates, and basic non-destructive evaluation (NDE).
• Maintain accurate records in the Manufacturing Execution System (MES) and help implement simple data-collection or automation scripts when needed.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Materials Science, or a closely related discipline.
• 03 years of relevant experience (co-op, internship, or academic research projects involving process engineering, composites, or energetics strongly preferred).
• Strong foundational knowledge of chemistry and materials science (coursework or projects involving polymers, composites, or reaction kinetics is a plus).
• Hands-on experience in a laboratory or manufacturing setting (academic labs, senior design projects, internships, or personal projects count).
• Familiarity with basic safety practices in chemical or energetic material environments.
• Comfortable working with hand tools, data acquisition systems, and basic test equipment.
• Excellent attention to detail and ability to follow strict procedures.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Preferred Skills

• Any prior exposure to composite propellants, vacuum casting, rheology, or energetic materials (even academic or hobby rocketry experience).
• Basic scripting or data analysis skills (Python, MATLAB, Excel VBA, or LabVIEW).
• Experience reading technical drawings and CAD models.
• Enthusiasm for defense technology and willingness to work in a regulated, high-safety environment.

Leadership Qualities

• Bias to Action and Creative Problem Solving.
• Desire and experience questioning assumptions in ways that lead to breakthrough ideas that are ultimately implemented.
• Ability to personally resolve minor issues in development without requiring significant support.
• High Commitment, High Initiative.
• Strong sense of accountability and integrity.
• Clear Communicator.

ITAR Requirements

To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.