How to hire a materials process engineer

How to hire a materials process engineer, step by step

Here's a step-by-step materials process engineer hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a materials process engineer job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new materials process engineer
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a materials process engineer do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a materials process engineer, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect materials process engineer also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   The following list breaks down different types of materials process engineers and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Materials Process Engineer	Description	Hourly rate
   Materials Process Engineer	Materials engineers develop, process, and test materials used to create a wide range of products, from computer chips and aircraft wings to golf clubs and biomedical devices. They study the properties and structures of metals, ceramics, plastics, composites, nanomaterials (extremely small substances), and other substances to create new materials that meet certain mechanical, electrical, and chemical requirements.	$33-56
   Research And Development Engineer	Research and development engineers generally execute research and tests on product ideas, develop new products, and perform redesigns. They are employed in many industries, including manufacturing, electrical, and science-based companies... Show more	$35-64
   Development Engineer	A Development Engineer is responsible for the development and validation of products, systems, and components. They are also responsible for quality control of work and continuous improvement of engineer activities.	$33-58

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Failure Analysis
   • Material Properties
   • Process Specifications
   • Engineering Drawings
   • DOD
   • Data Analysis
   • Design Engineering
   • Composite Materials
   • Additive Manufacturing
   • Test Data
   • SEM
   • Product Development
   • Technical Support
   • ASTM

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage and successfully complete carbon/epoxy material qualification and gain approval from FAA to use in manufacturing of composite aircraft parts.
   • Redesign polymer formulations for critical defense and aerospace programs due to chemical obsolescence.
   • Pulled/Analyze data in JMP package.
   • Project manager for electrical and thermo-property testing to ASTM standards.
   • Perform weekly injector, thrust chamber, and gear quality inspection per AES, ASTM, standards and DELMIA requirements.
   • Coordinate with the forging and heat treatment departments to resolve the occasional recurring excessive ultrasonic noise issue in titanium alloys.

   More materials process engineer duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your materials process engineer job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A materials process engineer salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a materials process engineer in Mississippi may be lower than in Washington, and an entry-level materials process engineer usually earns less than a senior-level materials process engineer. Additionally, a materials process engineer with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average materials process engineer salary

   $90,788yearly

   $43.65 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level materials process engineer salary

   $69,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 20, 2026

   Average materials process engineer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Washington	$110,300	$53
   2	New Hampshire	$106,926	$51
   3	California	$105,692	$51
   4	Maryland	$100,308	$48
   5	Georgia	$96,743	$47
   6	Colorado	$96,725	$47
   7	New York	$96,212	$46
   8	New Mexico	$95,628	$46
   9	Connecticut	$94,074	$45
   10	Virginia	$94,018	$45
   11	Texas	$92,618	$45
   12	Utah	$89,979	$43
   13	Alabama	$84,266	$41
   14	Florida	$84,181	$40
   15	Oklahoma	$78,978	$38
   16	Kansas	$78,697	$38
   17	Wisconsin	$73,496	$35

   Average materials process engineer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Meta	$153,256	$73.68	149
   2	Apple	$144,819	$69.62	158
   3	Gillette	$105,908	$50.92
   4	Rivian	$105,811	$50.87	21
   5	Learjet	$105,029	$50.49
   6	Joby Aviation	$104,997	$50.48	15
   7	Cirrus Aircraft	$102,135	$49.10	11
   8	EmployBridge	$99,800	$47.98
   9	P&G	$99,390	$47.78	20
   10	Tesla	$98,993	$47.59	28
   11	Kymeta	$98,172	$47.20
   12	Safran	$97,254	$46.76	58
   13	Corning Incorporated	$96,760	$46.52	73
   14	Jacobs Engineering Group	$96,583	$46.43
   15	Ashley HomeStore	$96,417	$46.35	6
   16	The Aerospace Corporation	$96,396	$46.34	9
   17	Oceaneering	$95,332	$45.83	8
   18	CTS Corporation	$95,048	$45.70	6
   19	Aerojet Rocketdyne	$94,146	$45.26
   20	General Electric	$93,925	$45.16	163

4. Writing a materials process engineer job description

   A materials process engineer job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a materials process engineer job description:

   Materials process engineer job description example

   Spirit AeroSystems designs and builds aerostructures for both commercial and defense customers. With headquarters in Wichita, Kansas, Spirit operates sites in the U.S., U.K., France and Malaysia. The company's core products include fuselages, pylons, nacelles and wing components for the world's premier aircraft. Spirit AeroSystems focuses on affordable, innovative composite and aluminum manufacturing solutions to support customers around the globe.
   Responsibilities
   
   Location: Onsite in Wichita
   
   Key Accountabilities: • Apply knowledge of engineering and scientific principles to the aero-structure metallic materials, processes & standards disciplines to support the development, design, manufacturing, assembly, evaluation/inspection, and procurement of aircraft or aerospace structures. • Apply knowledge of metallic material properties to develop, select, trade, or recommend metallic materials that meet the environmental and regulatory requirements for chemical, environmental, and mechanical systems. • Apply knowledge of metallic material properties to develop new aero-structure concepts relative to OEM metallic material and process requirements. • Apply engineering technical and programmatic knowledge to develop and support research projects to resolve metallic material and process issues, problems, improve metallic manufacturing processes and push the envelope of metallic materials technology. • Apply knowledge of metallic fabrication and assembly processes to develop new and more efficient metallic production processes that are repeatable, cost effective, environmentally friendly, and meet contractual and regulatory requirements as well as perform metallic process development and associated qualifications. • Apply engineering knowledge to contribute and direct the development and maintenance of metallic engineering standards/specifications. • Ability to use analytical problem-solving skills to improve delivery efficiency/quality and be capable of developing RCCA's in the field of metallic materials or processes that affect aerostructures.
   
   Qualifications
   
   Requirements:• This role requires US Citizenship• Candidates must be able to obtain and maintain a DoD security clearance. Employment start date would be determined based upon program need and obtaining clearance.• Successful candidates must be able to secure Program access approval• Requires 2 to 4 years of experience with a bachelor's degree or 0 to 2 years of experience with a master's degree in Metallurgical Engineering, Material Science or Mechanical / Aerospace Engineering with Metallurgical emphasis from an ABET accredited school.• Have had or can acquire and maintain OEM (Boeing, Airbus, etc.) delegations for:o Engineering drawing review and approvalo Designated part (i.e., D6-1276) manufacturing planning review and approvalo MRB review and approval authority.Preferred Qualifications:• Relevant aircraft/aerospace industry experience in aero-structure materials, processes, and standards as well M&P experience in the following metallic materials (i.e., aluminum, titanium, Ni-base, PH stainless & High Strength steel alloys). Ceramic material background would also be a plus.• Process experience in primary metal production, metal forming (hot & cold - stretch & roll forming, forging, casting, SPF, etc.), machining, cutting, joining, and coatings for corrosion and/or thermal protection.• Proficiency in CAD tools (Catia V5/6, Enovia, PASS, PDMLink, etc.), Project Planning (MS Project);Engineering Resource Planning Tools (SAP/cERP/gPLM) and standard MS Office applications (Excel, Word, Outlook, Access, Visio, etc.) is preferred.• Master's degree in a Metallic Materials Science / Metallurgical Engineering or Mechanical Engineering with Metallic Materials Science emphasis is a plus and/or a minimum of five years of directly related technical experience in aircraft/aerospace engineering (or an equivalent combination of education and experience.)• Experience in failure analysis and SEM, GDS, GCMS or ES operation.• Experience in testing and evaluation using destructive and non-destructive test methods for metallic materials.• Experience in Nadcap metallic special processes (Welding, Heat Treat, S
   
   Spirit AeroSystems is an equal opportunity employer and considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy, age, disability, veteran status or any other protected factor under federal, state or local law.
   
   Job LocationsUS-KS-Wichita
   
   
   Posted Date 2 weeks ago (9/28/2022 3:35 PM)
   
   Category Engineering

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5. Post your job

   To find materials process engineers for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any materials process engineers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level materials process engineers with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your materials process engineer job on Zippia to find and recruit materials process engineer candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting materials process engineers requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new materials process engineer

   Once you've found the materials process engineer candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new materials process engineer first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a materials process engineer?