Head of Metal Additive Manufacturing, Materials and Process Engineering

Hadrian - Manufacturing the Future

Hadrian is building autonomous factories that help aerospace and defense companies manufacture rockets, satellites, jets, and ships up to 10x faster and up to 2x cheaper. By combining advanced software, robotics, and full-stack manufacturing, we are reinventing how America produces its most critical parts.

Valued at $1.6B, we’re accelerating our mission with the launch of Factory 3 in Mesa, Arizona, a 290,000-square-foot facility creating 350 new jobs. We are expanding rapidly to support thousands of future hires, launching Hadrian Maritime to expand into naval production, and introducing a Factory-as-a-Service model that delivers complete systems instead of individual parts.

Hadrian is backed by leading investors including T. Rowe Price, Lux Capital, Founders Fund, and Andreessen Horowitz, our fast-growing team is united around reindustrializing American manufacturing for the 21st century and beyond.

The Role:

We are looking for a hands-on, technically rigorous leader to build and scale our Metal Additive Manufacturing Materials and Process Engineering function. In this role, you will own the end-to-end technical strategy for AM processes, from powder and feedstock controls through parameter development, build qualification, heat treat and HIP, post-processing, inspection, and flight-critical certification. You will lead a cross-functional team that partners tightly with design, applications engineering, manufacturing, quality, and supply chain to deliver robust, repeatable, and cost-effective production. The ideal candidate has deep expertise in metallurgy and process physics, a track record of qualifying materials and processes in regulated environments, and the judgment to balance speed, risk, and reliability while driving continuous improvement across capability, yield, and throughput.

What You’ll Do:

• Lead the end-to-end technical strategy for metal additive manufacturing (AM) materials and processes, including powder/feedstock controls, parameter development, build qualification, post-processing, inspection, and certification readiness.

• Build, lead, and develop a high-performing Materials & Process (M&P) Engineering team, establishing technical standards, execution priorities, and scalable development-to-production workflows.

• Own material selection, qualification, and allowables development, including test matrices, data packages, and compliance with customer and regulatory requirements.

• Define and control powder lifecycle management, process monitoring, traceability systems, and integrated post-processing routes to ensure repeatable, cost-effective, and production-ready performance.

• Partner cross-functionally with Design, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, and external suppliers to industrialize processes, resolve technical risks, and drive continuous improvement in yield, throughput, and reliability.

What We’re Looking For:

• Master’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering, Metallurgy, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related technical field (or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience).

• 10+ years of experience in materials and process engineering for metal additive manufacturing (e.g., Powder Bed Fusion (PBF), Directed Energy Deposition (DED), or related modalities) in aerospace, defense, or other regulated production environments.

• 3+ years of people leadership experience, including managing or leading technical teams.

• Demonstrated experience developing, characterizing, and qualifying metal AM processes, including parameter development, powder metallurgy controls, post-processing integration, and inspection strategy.

• Experience developing technical specifications, test plans, qualification data packages, and leading structured root cause and corrective action using statistical and DOE methodologies.

What Will Set You Apart:

• Ph.D. in Materials Science, Metallurgy, Manufacturing, or a related discipline.

• Experience developing high-productivity processes for laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) and/or directed energy deposition (DED) systems.

• Deep technical expertise in physical metallurgy, microstructure-property relationships, and process physics for metal AM.

• Experience industrializing new alloys, sensing technologies, or advanced monitoring systems into qualified, production-standard workflows.

Compensation:

For this role, the target salary range is $220,000 - $250,000 (actual range may vary based on experience).

This is the lowest to highest salary we reasonably and in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range, and the range may be modified in the future. An employee's pay position within the salary range will be based on several factors, including, but not limited to, relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, performance, and business or organizational needs.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans for employees

• 401k

• Relocation support may be provided for certain situations, based on business need.

• Flexible vacation policy

ITAR Requirements

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.

Hadrian Is An Equal Opportunity Employer

It is the Company’s policy to provide equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees. The Company does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race inclusive of traits historically associated with race (including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles, such as braids, locks and twists), color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, national origin (including, in California, possession of a drivers license), ancestry, citizenship, age, physical or mental disability, height or weight, medical condition, family care status, military or veteran status, marital status, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, genetic information, exercise of reproductive rights, any other basis protected by local, state, or federal laws, or any combination of the above characteristics. When necessary, the Company also makes reasonable accommodations for disabled candidates and employees, including for candidates or employees who are disabled by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.