Senior Casting Process Engineer - Own Solidification and Process Development for Flight-Critical Metal Castings
Billerica, MA | On-site
Opportunity Summary
Join a venture-backed foundry startup that is rethinking investment casting from first principles. Complex castings now take two to three years to source domestically. The company combines additively manufactured patterns, in-house process software, and custom equipment to deliver high-performance castings for aerospace, space, and defense hardware in weeks, and it is already shipping parts to major defense primes.
Reporting directly to the CTO, you will lead development of the high-temperature casting capability, starting with equiaxed nickel superalloy parts and growing toward more advanced solidification methods. You will connect thermal history to real metallurgical outcomes, build a deep understanding of why defects form so the process can take in any new part and produce a good one, and help design the foundry equipment itself rather than inheriting someone else's process.
Foundry experience is a plus, not a requirement. We are just as interested in strong metallurgists and process engineers from metal additive manufacturing, forging, single-crystal growth, and other high-temperature processes who understand the physics and learn fast.
About Us
We are an early-stage, well-capitalized advanced manufacturing startup rebuilding domestic metal casting capacity for aerospace, defense, and energy customers. The U.S. has lost most of its foundry capacity over the past few decades, largely because the work is so labor-intensive and rework-heavy. Our approach removes as much manual labor and rework as possible through software, process control, and custom equipment, then automates the rest. We have a production foundry running, are shipping parts to customers that include major defense primes, and are working toward AS9100 certification and first customer qualification articles ahead of low-rate production in 2027. The founding team comes from top commercial space, metal additive manufacturing, and automated machining companies, the team is set to grow significantly over the next year, and every employee works on-site, close to the physical process.
Job Duties
- Own process development and production readiness for high-temperature alloy castings, with a focus on yield, repeatability, and defect reduction
- Relate thermal gradient and growth rate to grain structure, segregation, and microstructure, and use that understanding to control outcomes
- Predict, measure, and control feeding and shrinkage through the mushy zone to eliminate shrinkage porosity, microporosity, and hot tearing
- Tighten process windows using SPC, DOE, and physics-based reasoning, and lead root-cause analysis on casting defects
- Partner with the software team to build in-house thermal and solidification models that predict and compensate for defects and guide gating, risering, mold design, and thermal control
- Cut rework and manual labor, the biggest cost drivers in a traditional foundry, by making the process reliable and high-yield
- Work across the full process as needed, including patterns, shell systems, melt practice, pouring, and post-cast processing
- Define requirements for and help commission custom foundry equipment that delivers precise thermal and process control
- Lead technical discussions with customers on material selection, casting approach, qualification strategy, and production readiness
- Transition processes quickly from development into stable production as the company qualifies parts and moves toward low-rate production
Qualifications
- Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in Materials Science, Metallurgical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Physics, or a related field
- 5+ years developing or running a high-temperature process where solidification, melting, deformation, or microstructure drives results, such as casting, metal additive manufacturing, forging, welding, crystal growth, or thermal processing
- Strong grasp of solidification fundamentals, including nucleation and growth, constitutional supercooling, columnar-to-equiaxed transition, G/R relationships, segregation, and shrinkage
- Solid grounding in heat transfer, fluid flow, thermodynamics, and phase transformations
- Working knowledge of SPC and DOE for improving and sustaining process quality
- Demonstrated record of identifying defects, running root-cause investigations, and implementing corrective process changes
- Curiosity and drive to dig into root-cause physics and get up to speed quickly on an adjacent process
- Comfortable working hands-on with equipment and close to the process, not only at a desk
- U.S. person status (U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident) required under ITAR
Preferred Experience
- Nickel superalloy or other high-temperature investment casting for aerospace or space applications, at a production foundry or an in-house launch or engine foundry
- Familiarity with directional solidification or single-crystal processes, including single-crystal growth in semiconductors such as silicon or silicon carbide
- Metallurgy or process development in metal additive manufacturing or forging
- Hands-on foundry floor experience alongside technicians and engineers
- Experience spanning patterns, shelling, casting, and post-processing
- Solidification or flow simulation tools such as ProCAST, MAGMASOFT, Flow-3D, or equivalent
- Designing, building, or commissioning process equipment
- Work in an AS9100 quality environment
- Startup or rapid-iteration manufacturing experience
Why Join Us
- Rebuild foundry process and equipment from the ground up without legacy constraints
- Direct influence over equipment selection, process architecture, and long-term foundry strategy
- Report directly to the CTO with real technical autonomy
- Work on flight-critical hardware that matters to national security and aerospace
- Work on production programs with major defense primes as the company moves toward low-rate production in 2027
- Join ahead of a period of rapid growth, with the team expected to roughly triple
- Early-employee equity with real upside as the company expands from one foundry to many
- Fast career growth: early hires are expected to step into technical leadership as the team scales
- Small, hands-on team with no bureaucracy, where decisions happen in days rather than quarters
- A mission that matters: rebuilding domestic production of castings used in aircraft engines, defense systems, and energy infrastructure
- Competitive base salary
- Medical, dental, and vision coverage
- 401(k) plan
- Unlimited PTO
Compensation Details
$145,000 - $180,000 + equity
ITAR Requirement
This position requires access to technical data controlled under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). Applicants must be U.S. persons (U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents). Visa sponsorship is not available.
#LI-AV
