Manufacturing Engineer, Additive (DED)

Hadrian - Manufacturing the Future

Hadrian is building autonomous factories that help aerospace and defense companies manufacture rockets, satellites, jets, and ships up to 10x faster and up to 2x cheaper. By combining advanced software, robotics, and full-stack manufacturing, we are reinventing how America produces its most critical parts.

We’re accelerating our mission with the launch of Factory 3 in Mesa, Arizona, a 290,000-square-foot facility creating 350 new jobs. We are expanding rapidly to support thousands of future hires, launching Hadrian Maritime to expand into naval production, and introducing a Factory-as-a-Service model that delivers complete systems instead of individual parts.

Hadrian is backed by leading investors including T. Rowe Price, Lux Capital, Founders Fund, and Andreessen Horowitz, our fast-growing team is united around reindustrializing American manufacturing for the 21st century and beyond.

The Role:

Join us in shaping the future of aerospace and defense manufacturing. As an Additive Manufacturing Engineer - Applications focused on Directed Energy Deposition (DED), you will serve as a technical bridge between customer requirements and production-ready DED manufacturing solutions. You will work closely with customers and internal teams to evaluate part feasibility, guide Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM), support process development, and help scale DED programs from early engagement through qualification and production.

This is a hands-on, customer-facing engineering role at the intersection of applications engineering, manufacturing execution, and process development. You will help solve real-world DED manufacturing challenges, convert those solutions into repeatable manufacturing methods, and support the successful launch of high-impact aerospace and defense programs.

What You’ll Do:

• Customer Technical Support & Requirements Capture: Support technical engagement with customers by gathering requirements, clarifying design intent, and translating program needs into actionable manufacturing plans that align customer requirements with feasible DED manufacturing solutions.

• Program Feasibility & Application Development: Evaluate part and program fit for DED, identify technical risks, and support new application development, process selection, and manufacturing planning for critical hardware and production opportunities.

• DfAM & Design Reviews: Provide DfAM guidance specific to DED, including deposition strategy, feature design, access constraints, heat input considerations, distortion risk, machining stock, and post-processing-aware design decisions.

• Manufacturing Workflow & Build Planning: Define and optimize manufacturing workflows across design, deposition, post-processing, inspection, and certification, while supporting toolpath strategy, setup planning, and production readiness.

• DED Process Development & Industrialization: Partner with internal process and manufacturing teams to develop, mature, and industrialize DED capabilities, including equipment readiness, process windows, parameter refinement, and transition from development to repeatable production.

• Robustness, Repeatability & Process Improvement: Identify and drive improvements that make DED platforms and workflows more robust and repeatable based on machine behavior, deposition quality, process data, nonconformance trends, and production performance.

• Materials & Process Integration: Work closely with materials and quality teams to evaluate weldability, heat input effects, residual stress, mechanical performance, geometric accuracy, and surface condition to refine process parameters and manufacturing guidance for high-performance alloys.

• Post-Processing & Secondary Operations Integration: Coordinate across stress relief, heat treat, HIP where applicable, machining, inspection, and finishing to ensure end-to-end manufacturability and downstream process alignment.

• Qualification & Validation Execution: Support qualification planning, validation builds, coupons, test plans, NDT strategy, acceptance criteria definition, first article activities, and data package development required for customer approval and production release.

• Data, Traceability & Documentation: Maintain clear engineering documentation, process records, work instructions, specifications, and traceability artifacts, and support process control plans, calibration routines, and reporting workflows required for quality and production execution.

• Technical Problem Solving: Investigate machine, process, and part quality issues using structured root cause analysis and sound engineering fundamentals, disposition nonconforming hardware as needed, and support corrective actions that improve yield, consistency, and cost.

• Cross-Functional & External Coordination: Work closely with Additive Manufacturing, Manufacturing Engineering, Quality, Materials, Supply Chain, and Operations, while coordinating with machine OEMs, materials suppliers, external processors, test labs, and contract manufacturers as needed.

• Best Practices, Standardization & Safety: Capture lessons learned, develop best practices for DED equipment and processes, improve standard work and design guidance, support make-buy and technology assessment activities, and identify opportunities to improve safety throughout the manufacturing workflow.

• Technical Communication: Present technical recommendations, trade studies, risk assessments, and status updates clearly to internal stakeholders and customers, and support technical reviews, supplier visits, and broader representation of DED capability when needed.

What We’re Looking For:

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Mechanical, Materials, Aerospace, Manufacturing, Welding, or related field.

• 4+ years of experience in additive manufacturing, manufacturing engineering, applications engineering, process engineering, or development of metallic additive technologies, preferably with DED.

• Hands-on knowledge of metal DED processes and production workflow, including design considerations, pre-process planning, deposition, post-processing, inspection, and qualification.

• Experience with DfAM principles specific to DED and the interaction between deposition strategy, machining, distortion control, and downstream manufacturing performance.

• Working knowledge of welding metallurgy, heat input control, residual stress management, and mechanical performance in deposited metallic structures.

• Experience working with engineering drawings, GD&T, tolerance interpretation, and inspection planning.

• Experience supporting part development from prototype through qualification or early production.

• Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to analyze technical issues and recommend practical solutions.

• Ability to communicate effectively with customers, engineers, technicians, suppliers, and cross-functional teams.

• Willingness to travel up to 15-20%, primarily within the U.S.

• U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident required for ITAR compliance.

What Will Set You Apart:

• Experience supporting aerospace and defense applications in regulated manufacturing environments, including qualification of flight-critical or mission-critical hardware.

• Experience with process validation, qualification planning, capability studies, statistical process control, multifactorial DOE, or first article execution.

• Familiarity with aerospace manufacturing standards and quality systems, including NASA, ESA, AS9100, EN9100, or comparable customer requirements.

• Experience with wire-based DED processes, with familiarity across powder-fed DED or adjacent metal AM technologies.

• Experience with robotic toolpath programming, CAM systems, welding simulation tools, or thermal-mechanical modeling relevant to DED.

• Metallurgical experience with copper alloys, nickel-based superalloys, titanium, aluminum, or other high-performance alloys relevant to DED.

• Experience with metrology, NDT, heat treatment, and process control methods used for DED hardware qualification.

• Experience with machine OEMs, materials suppliers, software providers, external processors, or contract manufacturers supporting additive workflows.

• Working knowledge of complementary conventional manufacturing processes such as CNC machining, casting, forging, and welding.

• Experience with ERP, MRP, MES, or production planning systems such as SAP or similar tools.

Compensation:

For this role, the target salary range is $135,000 - $200,000 (actual range may vary based on experience).

This is the lowest to highest salary we reasonably and in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range, and the range may be modified in the future. An employee's pay position within the salary range will be based on several factors, including, but not limited to, relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, performance, and business or organizational needs.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans for employees

• 401k

• Relocation support may be provided for certain situations, based on business need.

• Flexible vacation policy

ITAR Requirements

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.

Hadrian Is An Equal Opportunity Employer

It is the Company’s policy to provide equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees. The Company does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race inclusive of traits historically associated with race (including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles, such as braids, locks and twists), color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, national origin (including, in California, possession of a drivers license), ancestry, citizenship, age, physical or mental disability, height or weight, medical condition, family care status, military or veteran status, marital status, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, genetic information, exercise of reproductive rights, any other basis protected by local, state, or federal laws, or any combination of the above characteristics. When necessary, the Company also makes reasonable accommodations for disabled candidates and employees, including for candidates or employees who are disabled by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.