Fracture Control Engineer

Role details

Are you passionate about human space exploration, understanding the origins of the universe, and working with a passionate and diverse team to make a difference? If you are, we need you!

We need your talent, teamwork, and energy to help us achieve great things that inspire people all over the globe. We need you to bring creative ideas and diverse backgrounds to help us envision, shape, and deliver systems that will enable the exploration of space while benefiting people here on Earth. We are excited about what we do, and we need you on our team as we take on exciting challenges for NASA's pursuits in deep space exploration.

We have an exciting opportunity for a Fracture Control Engineer to join our JETS II contract team at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX.

If selected you will

• Review Fracture Control Plans, Fracture Control Summaries, and associated documentation for spaceflight hardware.
• Perform fracture mechanics assessments, including crack growth analysis, fracture toughness interpretation, and criticality classification.
• Review engineering drawings, material specs, and manufacturing plans for fracture control compliance.
• Provide technical direction for fracture testing (fracture toughness, crack propagation, stress corrosion, fatigue testing) for metallic, composite, and non-metallic materials.
• Collaborate with design engineers, stress analysts, materials engineers, quality assurance, NDE personnel, and program safety/mission assurance to ensure fracture-control compliance across the hardware lifecycle.
• Support technical reviews (PDR, CDR, FRB, ERB, hazard reviews) by presenting rationale, analysis results, and classification decisions.
• Evaluate flight hardware for compliance with NASA fracture control requirements, applicable standards and program-specific criteria.
• Support anomaly resolution, provide technical recommendations, and contribute to risk assessments for fracture-related issues.
• Other tasks as required.

Qualifications

This position has been posted at multiple levels. Depending on the candidate's experience, requirements, and business needs, we reserve the right to consider candidates at any level for which this position has been advertised.

• Typically requires a minimum of a bachelor's degree in Engineering and normally possess 5- 10 years of related experience. License and certification may be required.
• Bachelor's degree or higher (e.g., M.S. or Ph.D.) in Engineering in the following areas: Mechanical, Materials Science, Aerospace.
• 5 or more years of professional experience in fracture control, stress/fracture analysis, materialsprocesses engineering, structural analysis, or related hardware verification.
• Strong experience with fracture mechanics principles, fatigue and damage tolerance assessment.
• Familiarity with composite materials, nonmetals, and their fracture behavior (including delamination, matrix cracking, interlaminar fracture).
• Hands-on experience with fracture testing (toughness, fatigue, crack propagation) and related ASTM or NASA test methods.
• Working knowledge of NDE techniques relevant to fracture-critical hardware.
• Ability to interpret NASA fracture control requirements, program standards, and certification processes.
• Strong technical communication skills and ability to present rationale to multidisciplinary and program leadership teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• PhD or advanced degree highly preferred.
• Previous experience supporting NASA human spaceflight hardware or fracture control processes.
• Experience with analysis tools such as NASGRO, ABAQUS, Nastran/Patran, or comparable fracture/stress analysis software.

Benefits

• Competitive pay
• Positive work-life balance
• 100% Employer paid insurance including: Medical, dental, vision, life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, short-term disability, and long-term disability
• 11 paid holidays annually
• Generous PTO
• 401k after 12 months of service with employer match
• Education assistance
• Relocation assistance (if applicable)

Mclaurin is a unique organization with a special focus on combining the best features of research and industry in order to foster innovation. Our organization strongly supports research, publication, and engagement with the academic community. We encourage our employees to remain on the cutting edge of new developments in their respective disciplines.

US Citizenship and the ability to pass a comprehensive security background investigation is required.

Mclaurin is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status or other characteristics protected by law.