Materials and Process Engineer

Karman Industries

Karman Industries is a Torrance-based thermal technology company building the backbone for giga-scale AI infrastructure. Founded by a team from SpaceX, Rocket Lab, and GE, Karman is moving beyond legacy cooling with the launch of the HPU (Heat Processing Unit) —a new category of thermal architecture designed for the 100kW+ rack era.

The HPU shrinks the exterior mechanical yard by up to 80% while reducing peak energy consumption by 10%+. Unlike traditional systems, the Karman HPU provides zero-water (WUE 0) cooling that ensures high-TDP GPUs and HBM4 memory stay at optimal thermal setpoints without throttling.

Founded in 2024, we’re a fast-growing team of passionate professionals dedicated to making a tangible impact on the future of humanity. We design, build, and test real hardware, and we lead with ownership: you’ll own your work from concept to hardware and help shape how we scale. Our values are Ownership, Performance Excellence, Radical Transparency, and Customer-Centricity.

Join us in our mission to transform the industry and contribute to a more sustainable world.

Materials & Process Engineer

Karman Industries is seeking a highly motivated Materials and Process Engineer to join our team designing the next generation of heat processing systems. The candidate will be responsible for identifying, qualifying, and developing materials and manufacturing processes to enable the Karman Heat Processing Unit (HPU) and subsequent product development. The role will span materials selection, qualification testing, and process development across a range of challenging applications. We are a team that relies on a strong first principles approach and working together to deliver a cohesively developed system.

Responsibilities:

Identify and evaluate materials for use in our challenging applications

Design and execute material qualification campaigns

Develop internal processes including working with thermosets

Develop internal manufacturing processes including metal brazing and welding

Perform lab testing and characterization of welds, heat-treated materials, diffusion-bonded joints, and other processed materials

Stand up and own the materials lab end to end, from defining equipment and testing requirements through developing procedures and running day-to-day operations

Build out the materials discipline as the founding member of the materials group, establishing processes, standards, and best practices from the ground up, with significant opportunity to shape the direction of the function

Work with a tightly knit team across disciplines to develop all aspects of the Karman Heat Processing Unit

Implement novel solutions to challenging problems, thinking outside the box and challenging the status quo

Develop analytical, physics-based (first principles) models to determine material performance and limitations

Analyze and implement compliance requirements for certification and applicable industry codes and standards

Hands-on support of material and process integration on product skids

Required Qualifications:

B.Sc./B.Eng. in materials science, materials engineering, mechanical engineering, or equivalent

5+ years of experience in materials selection, qualification, or process development

Experience developing and executing material test and qualification campaigns

Familiarity with metal joining processes such as brazing and welding

Hands-on experience with manufacturing process development

Self-motivated / high performer, ability to self-manage, multi-task, and communicate excellently

Desired Skills and Experience:

Experience evaluating elastomers, thermoplastics, and thermosets

Experience with metallics processes, including forgings, castings, welding, brazing, sintering, and diffusion bonding

Familiarity with ASME BPVC (Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code) and equivalent piping codes such as ASME B31.1 and B31.3

Background in high-temperature or thermal processing applications

Experience with failure analysis and root cause investigation

Experience working with material and process specifications (ASTM, AWS, etc.)

Experience with mechanical packaging or design for manufacturability

Karman Industries is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Karman Industries is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

Direct applicants only — we are not working with outside recruiters or agencies for this role.