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Materials research engineer skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Dr. James Rawlins,

Rick Wise Ph.D.

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical materials research engineer skills. We ranked the top skills for materials research engineers based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 12.6% of materials research engineer resumes contained materials research as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a materials research engineer needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 materials research engineer skills for your resume and career

1. Materials Research

Here's how materials research engineers use materials research:

Research Engineer, Energy & Materials Researched mechanical properties of new fuel cell materials and performed failure analysis on electrode components.

2. Research Projects

Here's how materials research engineers use research projects:

Manage research projects and develop new adhesive materials that enable light-weighting of vehicle.
Utilize Microsoft Project for management of applied research projects and statistical Design of Experiments for product design and process optimization.

3. Characterization Techniques

Here's how materials research engineers use characterization techniques:

Utilized laboratory machinery and progressive characterization techniques to identify an unknown sample given.
Utilized state-of-the-art characterization techniques to identify the underlying causes of cell degradation.

4. Synthesis

Synthesis refers to the process of combining a number of things to become something new. Depending on the field of work, this may mean combining ideas, products, and new influences into a new service or product. Overall, the process is focused on reviewing and analyzing different data points to make something new.

Here's how materials research engineers use synthesis:

Co-authored a patent application for a low-cost synthesis method of solar semiconductors.
Assisted in analyzing the corrosion properties of nickel boron coatings and synthesis of strontium titanate pellets utilizing the solid state processing methods

5. Additive Manufacturing

Here's how materials research engineers use additive manufacturing:

Evaluate customer prototype designs for manufacturing feasibility in support of qualification efforts of additive manufacturing processes for advanced hardware.
Performed experiments and depositions using a Plasma Transfer Arc (PTA) additive manufacturing device.

6. R

R is a free software environment and a language used by programmers for statistical computing. The R programming language is famously used for data analysis by data scientists.

Here's how materials research engineers use r:

Developed a data extract validation application utilizing R that incorporates XML files to dynamically generate SQL statements for data reconciliation.
Utilized R to construct models for predicting large group costs and savings for value based programs.

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7. Statistical Analysis

Here's how materials research engineers use statistical analysis:

Utilized sophisticated programming techniques to manipulate big data sets and employed advanced statistical analysis methods to extract insights from the data.
Designed and constructed in-line test beds for optimizing the overall efficiency of washers and dish-washers using six-sigma based statistical analysis.

8. FTIR

Here's how materials research engineers use ftir:

Verified global compounds and helped identify unknown material through reverse engineering by testing physical properties and use of FTIR.
Determined composition of solid and liquid samples using FTIR.

9. Material Properties

Here's how materials research engineers use material properties:

Conducted research on latent heat storage materials for evaluation of material properties.
Evaluated competitor's products through various reverse engineering techniques to determine material properties and various manufacturing process specifications.

10. Mechanical Properties

The properties that determine the mechanical strength, aptitude, and potential of materials that are used to manufacture a piece of mechanical machinery. Mechanical properties of materials that need to be kept in mind are; strength of the material that keeps it from breaking down, the toughness of the material that enables it to absorb energy without fracturing, and hardness that keeps the material from deforming despite external pressure.

Here's how materials research engineers use mechanical properties:

Identified optimal rheocasting experimental parameters and designed pressurization mold that significantly improved component microstructure, mechanical properties, and cast repeatability.
Developed system armor solutions and coordinated mechanical properties of metals with suppliers to meet threat requirements supplied by customer.

11. DOE

DOE, DOX, or design of experiments is a term used to refer to a part of applied statistics whose main focus is to conduct and observe controlled tests with the ultimate goal of understanding and explaining how information and results might vary under different hypotheses and circumstances and how such variables affect the results and tests. Design of experiments is used in marketing, politics, various sciences, and, of course, experiments.

Here's how materials research engineers use doe:

Researched new test methods and prototypes for future products through design of experiments (DOE) and process parameter recording.
Conduct calculations of different formulas for experimental compounds and DOE.

12. Electron Microscope

Here's how materials research engineers use electron microscope:

Performed failure analysis on engine components using scanning electron microscope.
Trained to use Scanning Electron Microscope, X-Ray Diffraction, and Raman Spectroscopy.

13. Extrusion

Here's how materials research engineers use extrusion:

Optimize polymer extrusion processes from development to implementation to the plant floor to product commercialization and subsequent continual improvement.
Developed basic extrusion procedures and temperature profiles for polyurethane extrusion.

14. Scanning Electron Microscopy

Here's how materials research engineers use scanning electron microscopy:

Used scanning electron microscopy and electron back-scattered diffraction to view samples of grains.

15. Composite Materials

A composite material in the engineering and scientific world refers to materials made using two or more different substances. Each of these has varying chemical and physical properties, and they usually combine to form materials with high resistance to pressure and heat. The newly formed material is also more robust and offers a variety of applications.

Here's how materials research engineers use composite materials:

Designed and developed transport electrical testing methods for composite materials.
Lead Project Engineer for a number of SBIR research programs focused on the development of advanced composite materials.

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What skills help Materials Research Engineers find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What materials research engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Dr. James Rawlins

Professor, Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Southern Mississippi

We graduate polymer scientist and engineers those degrees are slightly different from plastics engineers but also very similar. Our students careers would be focused on utilizing new and legacy technology to deliver new performance and novel applications of polymeric materials. We present skills that allow our students to work in almost every area of research, development and engineering that is related to societal needs. Those that prefer to work daily in a laboratory would be able to do so in most career fields, testing materials, formulating new products and often being the technical lead with customer focused projects to match their needs and expectations. Those that prefer to move from a laboratory to sales and marketing also do so very successfully. The transition from inventing, making and testing polymeric materials happens often for those that prefer to sell and interface with customers. These bachelor degreed scientist and engineers would often travel to customers, explain technical projects and timelines associated with research and development.

What technical skills for a materials research engineer stand out to employers?

Rick Wise Ph.D.

Director, Materials Science and Engineering, University of Arkansas

Materials Science and Engineering graduates with MS and/or PhD degrees are expected to have a working knowledge of materials characterization equipment and how to interpret measurement results. Most will have an in-depth knowledge of materials used in a particular field (electronics, photonics, nanomaterials, energy, biological, etc.), in the fabricatoin/processing of those materials, and how to control and optimize the properties to meet the desired application. Especially valued is the capability to combine that knowledge with creativity to bring about innovations which help solve problems and create markets.

Do you want to know more?

List of materials research engineer skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a materials research engineer resume and required skills for a materials research engineer to have include:

Materials Research
Research Projects
Characterization Techniques
Synthesis
Additive Manufacturing
R
Statistical Analysis
FTIR
Material Properties
Mechanical Properties
DOE
Electron Microscope

Extrusion
Scanning Electron Microscopy
Composite Materials
DSC
Conduct Research
ISO
XRD
Data Analysis
AFM
ASTM
Application Development
IR

Wet Chemistry
NASA
Fuel Cells
Thin Films
Heat Treatment
Etching
Nanoparticles
LabVIEW
Data Collection
Comsol

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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