JOB DESCRIPTION/DUTIES:The Marine Coatings Engineer will perform hands-on scientific and engineering work supporting NRL marine coatings science and technology research. The position focuses on coating formulation, surface-treatment development, laboratory and environmental testing, surface preparation, application and removal processes, thermal spray, coating inspection, data analysis, and field evaluation of protective coating systems for Navy and maritime platforms.
- Conduct fundamental and applied research on marine coating systems and surface treatments for Navy ships, submarines, marine structures, aircraft, and related warfighting platforms.
- Formulate, refine, and evaluate coating systems using resins, pigments, and other coating constituents for underwater hulls, topside surfaces, non-skid areas, bilges, rudders, tanks, voids, and other Navy applications.
- Develop and evaluate multifunctional coatings, including surface-tolerant, antifouling, rapid-cure, solvent-free, self-inspecting, high-durability, and low-solar-absorbance coating technologies.
- Develop and test surface treatments, including thermal spray and other surface-modification or enhancement approaches, to improve corrosion resistance, durability, maintainability, and service life.
- Design and execute laboratory test plans and experimental procedures to evaluate coating physical properties and performance under natural seawater exposure, atmospheric conditions, environmental chambers, simulated flow environments, and other Navy-relevant conditions.
- Evaluate coating performance under controlled variations in temperature, humidity, solar exposure, wear, durability, coefficient of friction, acoustic damping, and other application-specific performance conditions identified by the test plan.
- Prepare test specimens, panels, substrates, and representative components for coating and surface-treatment evaluation using defined surface-preparation and application procedures.
- Develop, evaluate, and improve techniques, equipment, and processes for surface preparation, coating application, coating inspection, coating removal, and related maintenance activities.
- Investigate and test technologies that improve autonomy or automation in the application and removal of hull treatments, including process control, sensing, inspection, repeatability, and performance verification.
- Design and execute comparative studies of candidate coating systems and surface treatments to quantify degradation, durability, adhesion/performance trends, and environmental response over time.
- Collect, manage, analyze, and interpret experimental data to compare candidate technologies, identify degradation mechanisms and performance trends, and support technically defensible conclusions.
- Use analytical, statistical, modeling, and data-visualization tools to evaluate coating performance and translate test data into engineering findings, plots, reports, and recommendations.
- Perform or support coating inspections, surface-condition assessments, and post-exposure examinations to document coating condition, defects, wear, degradation, and failure characteristics.
- Support development and evaluation of test fixtures, environmental exposure setups, simulated-flow systems, application/removal equipment, and other experimental hardware needed for marine coatings RDT&E.
- Apply applicable Navy, DoD, and other technical standards, specifications, procedures, and acceptance criteria when preparing tests, evaluating coatings, and documenting results.
- Support waterfront, shipboard, shipyard, and field demonstrations of marine coatings, surface treatments, application/removal technologies, and related corrosion-control solutions.
- Prepare test plans, laboratory procedures, data packages, technical reports, performance summaries, specifications, guidance documents, graphs, and presentations that document methods, results, conclusions, and recommendations.
- Maintain rigorous test documentation, sample traceability, configuration records, data integrity, quality records, and Objective Quality Evidence needed to support repeatability and technical defensibility of research results..
EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE/EXPERTISE:- Bachelor's degree in Materials Science and Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Corrosion Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemistry, Polymer Science, or a closely related engineering/physical-science discipline; advanced degree preferred.
- Minimum of 5+ years of relevant experience in marine coatings, protective coatings, surface treatments, materials science, corrosion control, or related RDT&E activities in laboratory, field, shipboard, or industrial environments.
- Strong working knowledge of coating formulation, surface preparation, coating application, coating inspection, coating removal, materials compatibility, environmental exposure, and protective coating performance.
- Hands-on experience developing or evaluating coating systems, resins, pigments, surface treatments, thermal spray, or comparable protective-material technologies is highly desirable.
- Experience developing and executing technically rigorous test plans, environmental exposure studies, comparative coating evaluations, and data-analysis methods for complex engineering experiments.
- Experience evaluating coatings under natural seawater, atmospheric, controlled environmental, simulated-flow, or other Navy-relevant exposure conditions is highly desirable.
- Experience with coating application/removal equipment, inspection methods, surface-preparation processes, automation or autonomous maintenance technologies, or related experimental systems is preferred.
- Ability to troubleshoot test setups, coating application processes, experimental hardware, inspection issues, and data anomalies during high-tempo test execution.
- Ability to perform laboratory and fieldwork in waterfront, shipboard, shipyard, and other industrial environments as required.
- Excellent technical writing skills with the ability to prepare clear test plans, engineering analyses, technical reports, specifications, and recommendations based on experimental evidence.
- Active Secret security clearance required.
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