Senior AM Operations Engineer

Purpose of the Role

The Senior AM Operations Engineer at Divergent will drive continuous improvements across all aspects of the Additive Manufacturing (AM) process. This encompasses new AM equipment, equipment control plans (ECP), post-processing equipment, and ensuring customer compliance. The ultimate goal is to achieve best-in-class printed material performance, operational excellence, and optimize the cost of goods sold (COGS).

Key Responsibilities

• Act as a subject matter expert in Additive Manufacturing, leading high-priority improvements for printed material capability, consistency, quality, and total manufacturing cost.
• Independently define project scope, collaboratively align stakeholders, prioritize resources, organize data, and effectively communicate the status of development activities.
• Characterize, control, and qualify key aspects of AM equipment to consistently produce high-quality material.
• Develop and validate improvements for all AM equipment.
• Optimize process parameters to meet cost and performance requirements for both automotive and aerospace markets, utilizing internally developed software tools.
• Collaborate closely with design, manufacturing, and quality teams to provide feasibility and risk assessments for new AM products or features.
• Author and maintain operations specifications to ensure printed material consistency through clear and concise technical writing.
• Support the disposition of AM quality non-conformances and conduct root cause analysis.

Basic Qualifications

• Ability to lawfully access information and technology subject to US export controls.
• B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Material Science and Engineering, or a related engineering field.
• 5+ years of professional experience in a manufacturing environment, and/or technical project management experience.
• Proficiency in statistical methodologies and design of experiments.
• 5+ years of experience developing L-PBF equipment, process parameters, and/or print file programming.
• Ability to carry up to 25 lbs.

Preferred Qualifications

• M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Material Science and Engineering, or a related engineering field.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to present clear and concise technical information.
• Proficient with materials engineering fundamentals (stress-strain, fatigue, microstructure).
• Experience with aerospace design for additive manufacturing and the ability to perform manufacturing trade studies grounded in first principles.
• Direct hands-on experience operating and programming additive manufacturing equipment.
• Experience with root cause troubleshooting and repairing mechatronic systems.
• Proficient with 3D modeling in Teamcenter / NX.
• Experience utilizing and editing code (Python or C++) for data analysis.
• Demonstrated success with process parameter optimization through design of experiments and statistical analysis.
• Ability to publish effective specifications and standards.
• Passion for improving how things are made.

Work Environment

This role offers a hybrid work environment, blending office work with time spent on the factory floor. The position involves working in an HVAC-controlled L-PBF print room, ISO 9001/AS9100 manufacturing environments, and a metallurgical laboratory environment.

Key skills/competency

• Additive Manufacturing (AM)
• Process Optimization
• Statistical Analysis
• Design of Experiments (DOE)
• L-PBF Technology
• Root Cause Analysis
• Material Science
• Equipment Qualification
• Technical Writing
• Manufacturing Operations