Senior Chemical Process Engineer

Position Overview:

The performance of Inversion’s maneuvering reentry vehicles requires that we develop our own TPS materials — and making them at scale requires production-grade wet chemistry. As the Senior Chemical Process Engineer, you will stand up the sol-gel infusion and resin injection manufacturing processes at the heart of our thermal protection system production, carrying them from lab-scale demonstration to reliable, documented production. 

Key Responsibilities: 

• Develop and stand up sol-gel infusion and resin injection manufacturing processes, from process definition through commissioning of production equipment.
• Specify, design, and procure process equipment, including infusion and injection systems, vacuum and pressure vessels, resin delivery hardware, and drying and cure equipment.
• Characterize and control the process variables that drive product quality — sol rheology and gelation kinetics, resin viscosity and pot life, degassing, infiltration uniformity, and cure behavior.
• Scale processes from coupon-level development articles to full-scale production hardware.
• Establish process documentation, travelers, and statistical process control to make processes repeatable across operators and lots.
• Establish safe handling practices for production-scale wet chemistry, including solvents and reactive resin systems.
• Work closely with materials scientists, manufacturing engineers, and outside vendors to bring new process capabilities in-house at Inversion.

Required Qualifications: 

• Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering, or equivalent experience in a related field 
• Typically, 5+ years of experience in process development and scale-up of wet-chemistry or polymer manufacturing processes 
• Experience with infusion, infiltration, or impregnation-based manufacturing processes — such as sol-gel infusion, resin transfer molding (RTM/VARTM), matrix infiltration, or similar 
• Strong fundamentals in polymer and colloid processing, including rheology, gelation and cure kinetics, and mass transfer during infiltration 
• Experience carrying a process from laboratory demonstration to production, including equipment specification and commissioning 
• Experience with process safety practices for hazardous chemistry at production scale (e.g., PHA/HAZOP) 
• Proven ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment, including prototyping and rapid iteration of new products 
• Must have the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government Secret/Top Secret security clearance. 

Desired Qualifications: 

• Master's or PhD in Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, or a related field 
• Experience with sol-gel processing at production scale — such as aerogel blanket manufacturing, oxide CMC densification, polymer infiltration and pyrolysis (PIP), or catalyst washcoating 
• Experience with solvent exchange and supercritical or ambient-pressure drying processes 
• Experience processing phenolic or other ablative resin systems 
• Familiarity with process automation and controls (PLC/SCADA) for chemical process equipment 
• Prior experience working in startups and/or small independent teams 

Our office headquarters is located in Playa Vista, CA. This position requires in-office presence. 

The California annual base salary for this role is currently $137,000-$193,000 Pay Grades are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data.  Individual pay will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: interviews and an assessment of several factors that are unique to each candidate, job-related skills, relevant education and experience, certifications, abilities of the candidate and internal equity.