Technical Advisor - Materials Engineer, Air-Launched Hypersonics Eglin AFB (near Destin/Fort Walton Beach)

Role details

Company Description

MACH-20 is a rapidly growing defense-focused technology advisory firm founded in 2019 with a mission to drive confidence into the battlespace. The team brings many centuries of combined experience in materials, manufacturing, systems engineering, and advanced technology R&D supporting critical U.S. Department of Defense operations. The company’s culture is grounded in core values of Integrity, Persistence, Adaptability, and Innovation, emphasizing respect for people, strategic thinking, and continuous improvement. MACH-20 partners with a diverse range of DoD agencies to help usher in cutting-edge technologies that enable today’s and tomorrow’s warfighters.

The organization offers a collaborative environment for technical and strategic advisors who seek meaningful impact in national defense.

Location

Eglin AFB, FL

*(near Destin/Fort Walton Beach)*

with ability to travel 25%-50%

Experience

10+ years supporting aerospace materials qualification, structural integration, non-destructive inspection, and materials operational service performance within DoD or related defense aerospace environments

Clearance

U.S. Citizenship required. Secret clearance required. Active clearance (TS/SCI) preferred.

Position Description

MACH-20 is seeking an accomplished and mission-driven Materials Engineer to provide Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance (SETA) and advisory support to a high-priority Air Force Air-Launched Hypersonics program. In this role, you will serve as a trusted technical advisor embedded within the government program office, supporting an enterprise leveraging advanced high-temperature structural systems, thermal protection materials, and state-of-the-art manufacturing processes.

As a SETA advisory contractor, you will operate as an objective subject matter expert—evaluating prime contractor engineering data, monitoring advanced manufacturing and qualification campaigns, reviewing failure investigations, and assessing metallurgy, advanced composites, and environmental durability. While this position does not entail direct hands-on hardware design ownership, it requires significant technical depth and critical analysis to evaluate contractor deliverables, verify compliance with MIL-STDs and airworthiness standards, and ensure the hypersonic system meets stringent performance, quality, and lifecycle requirements.

Key Responsibilities

• Materials & Process Evaluation:

Provide independent technical evaluation of aerospace alloys, refractory metals, polymer and ceramic matrix composites (PMCs/CMCs), carbon-carbon systems, and high-temperature adhesives utilized across the hypersonic vehicle airframe, leading edges, control surfaces, and internal payload subassemblies.

• Technical Document & Design Review:

Critically review prime contractor engineering drawings, Material and Process (M&P) specifications, qualification test plans, and Material Qualification Packages. Actively participate in major program milestones (SRR, PDR, CDR, PRR) to identify material capability gaps, producibility risks, and environmental limits.

• Failure Analysis & Root Cause Investigation:

Coordinate and support comprehensive failure analyses for developmental test articles, ground tests, and fabrication anomalies. Interface with government and contractor laboratories to evaluate fractography, metallographic mounts, and mechanical/thermal characterization data, driving robust root cause identification and corrective action tracking.

• Corrosion Prevention & Environmental Protection:

Oversee execution of the program’s Corrosion Prevention and Control Plan (CPCP). Evaluate protective coating architectures, anodizing, thermal barrier coatings, surface treatments, and sealant systems designed to withstand harsh captive-carry, storage, high-humidity coastal environments, and operational flight conditions.

• Manufacturing Process Oversight:

Assess and monitor advanced manufacturing workflows, such as autoclave and out-of-autoclave composite curing, specialized welding/brazing, precision forging, and additive manufacturing (AM), verifying process repeatability, statistical process control, and compliance with rigorous aerospace quality standards.

• Testing and Standards Compliance:

Review and guide qualification test matrices, coupon-to-component test plans, and environmental screening protocols (e.g., aerothermal, thermal shock, vibration, humidity, salt fog) in accordance with MIL-STD-810, MMPDS, CMH-17, and ASTM standards.

• Supply Chain and Obsolescence Mitigation:

Track supply chain vulnerabilities, critical raw material availability, and single-source chemical or precursor dependencies. Provide actionable technical recommendations and candidate alternatives to mitigate Diminishing Manufacturing Sources and Material Shortages (DMSMS).

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Required Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science in Materials Science and Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a closely related discipline from an ABET-accredited institution.
• Minimum of 10 years of professional materials and process (M&P) engineering experience, including at least 2 years directly supporting DoD weapons systems, tactical missiles, guided munitions, or high-performance aircraft structures.
• Demonstrated technical expertise across aerospace structural metals, advanced composites, and protective surface treatments, including experience interpreting mechanical testing, characterization data, and metallographic evaluations.
• In-depth working knowledge of military and industry aerospace standards (e.g., MIL-STDs, MIL-HDBK-516, ASTM, AMS, AWS, MMPDS).
• Proven ability to collaborate effectively within multi-disciplinary integrated product teams (IPTs), including aerodynamics, thermal, structural, guidance & control, and manufacturing specialists.
• Superior technical communication and writing skills, with proven ability to distill complex engineering findings into clear, actionable executive summaries and recommendations for government program leadership.
• Active DoD Secret security clearance with the ability to obtain and maintain a TS/SCI clearance.

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Desired Qualifications

• Master of Science or Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering, or related discipline.
• Direct experience with extreme-environment materials and thermal protection systems (TPS) applicable to hypersonic flight regimes (e.g., carbon-carbon composites, CMCs, ultra-high-temperature ceramics, ablatives, and refractory alloys).
• Working knowledge of non-destructive inspection/evaluation (NDI/NDE) methodologies, including phased-array ultrasonics, computed tomography/radiography, and eddy current inspection for composite and additively manufactured components.
• Familiarity with DoD acquisition lifecycle processes (DoD 5000 series), airworthiness certification criteria (MIL-HDBK-516), and SETA/A&AS advisory roles within Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) or Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) program offices.