What You'll Do: The performance of Inversion's maneuvering reentry vehicles requires that we develop our own TPS materials - and making them at scale requires production-grade wet chemistry. As the Senior Chemical Process Engineer, you will stand up the sol-gel infusion and resin injection manufacturing processes at the heart of our thermal protection system production, carrying them from lab-scale demonstration to reliable, documented production. In this role, you will:
- Develop and stand up sol-gel infusion and resin injection manufacturing processes, from process definition through commissioning of production equipment
- Specify, design, and procure process equipment, including infusion and injection systems, vacuum and pressure vessels, resin delivery hardware, and drying and cure equipment
- Characterize and control the process variables that drive product quality - sol rheology and gelation kinetics, resin viscosity and pot life, degassing, infiltration uniformity, and cure behavior
- Scale processes from coupon-level development articles to full-scale production hardware
- Establish process documentation, travelers, and statistical process control to make processes repeatable across operators and lots
- Establish safe handling practices for production-scale wet chemistry, including solvents and reactive resin systems
- Work closely with materials scientists, manufacturing engineers, and outside vendors to bring new process capabilities in-house at Inversion
Required Qualifications: - Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering, or equivalent experience in a related field
- Typically, 5+ years of experience in process development and scale-up of wet-chemistry or polymer manufacturing processes
- Experience with infusion, infiltration, or impregnation-based manufacturing processes - such as sol-gel infusion, resin transfer molding (RTM/VARTM), matrix infiltration, or similar
- Strong fundamentals in polymer and colloid processing, including rheology, gelation and cure kinetics, and mass transfer during infiltration
- Experience carrying a process from laboratory demonstration to production, including equipment specification and commissioning
- Experience with process safety practices for hazardous chemistry at production scale (e.g., PHA/HAZOP)
- Proven ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment, including prototyping and rapid iteration of new products
- This position is on-site at Inversion HQ in Playa Vista, CA.
- Must have the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government Secret/Top Secret security clearance.
Desired Qualifications: - Master's or PhD in Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, or a related field
- Experience with sol-gel processing at production scale - such as aerogel blanket manufacturing, oxide CMC densification, polymer infiltration and pyrolysis (PIP), or catalyst washcoating
- Experience with solvent exchange and supercritical or ambient-pressure drying processes
- Experience processing phenolic or other ablative resin systems
- Familiarity with process automation and controls (PLC/SCADA) for chemical process equipment
- Prior experience working in startups and/or small independent teams
Our office headquarters is located in Playa Vista, CA. This position requires in-office presence. The California annual base salary for this role is currently $137,000-$193,000 Pay Grades are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data. Individual pay will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: interviews and an assessment of several factors that are unique to each candidate, job-related skills, relevant education and experience, certifications, abilities of the candidate and internal equity.
ITAR Compliance:To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.
