Position Title: Advanced Manufacturing & Materials Maturation Expert

Location: Aberdeen, MD

Department: Engineering

Reports to: Director of Manufacturing

Role Objective

The AMMM Expert will lead the transition of next-generation materials and manufacturing technologies from Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4 to TRL 7+. You will bridge the gap between material science breakthroughs and factory-floor execution, ensuring that new innovations are scalable, cost-effective, and compliant with industry standards.

Key Responsibilities

• Technology Scaling: Design and implement pilot-scale manufacturing processes for advanced materials (e.g., composites, additives, ceramics, or high-performance alloys).
• Process Maturation: Utilize Design for Manufacturing (DfM) and Design for Assembly (DfA) principles to refine theoretical material applications into repeatable industrial workflows.
• Qualification & Validation: Lead the development of testing protocols to validate material performance under real-world stress, ensuring all "matured" processes meet rigorous quality and safety benchmarks.
• Cross-Functional Liaison: Serve as the primary technical link between the R&D "Foundry" and the Production "Factory," translating complex material data into actionable manufacturing work instructions.
• Supply Chain De-risking: Evaluate and source raw material suppliers, ensuring the chemical and physical consistency of inputs required for advanced manufacturing techniques.
• Equipment Innovation: Identify and integrate "Industry 4.0" tools, such as automated optical inspection (AOI), digital twins, or robotic deposition, to stabilize new material processes.

Required Technical Skills & Qualifications

Requirement

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Description

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Education

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Master's or PhD in Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering, or Manufacturing Engineering.

Experience

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7+ years in a high-tech manufacturing environment (Aerospace, Defense, Semi-conductor, or Medical Device).

TRL Expertise

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Proven track record of moving technologies through the NASA/DoD Technology Readiness Level pipeline.

Materials Knowledge

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Deep expertise in, but limited to, Thermoplastics, Nanomaterials, and Additive Metals

Thermal Management

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Proficiency in designing advanced heat dissipation solutions (e.g., vapor chambers, phase-change materials, or high-thermal-conductivity adhesives).

Testing & Standards

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Hands-on experience with MIL-STD-810 (Environmental Engineering) and MIL-STD-461 (EMI/EMC) or equivalent IPC/ESCC standards.

Preferred Behavioral Traits

• The "Bridge-Builder" Mentality: Ability to speak "scientist" to the R&D team and "operator" to the production floor.
• Tolerance for Ambiguity: Comfortable working with nascent technologies where the "rules" of manufacturing are still being written.
• Analytical Rigor: A data-first approach to solving scaling bottlenecks and yield issues.

Key Responsibilities (RF/Electronics Focus)

• RF Integrity Maturation: Transition RF designs from "benchtop prototypes" to ruggedized, production-ready units that maintain signal integrity under extreme vibration and thermal cycling.
• Advanced Packaging: Lead the selection and validation of encapsulation, potting compounds, and conformal coatings that protect sensitive electronics from moisture, chemicals, or ionic contamination.
• Failure Analysis: Perform Physics of Failure (PoF) assessments to predict the lifespan of electronic components in accelerated aging or high-stress environments.