Principal Materials Engineer

What Timken makes possible begins with you. Those who came before us helped land a man on the moon, create the world’s infrastructure, and introduce renewable energy alternatives. Now you can join the Timken team to write your own unique story and help drive what’s next. A career at Timken means you can have an immediate impact doing Work That Matters to the world— improving the efficiency of today’s industrial equipment and preparing for the future of motion on our planet and beyond. New employees can start contributing right away, and there are many opportunities to advance your career at your own pace. Join our global team of 19,000 people in 45 countries, and start helping our customers push the limits of what’s possible in their world of motion. Purpose: This position exists within the Materials Engineering Team at Timken Corporate Headquarters to provide technical expertise, project management, and leadership in development of supplier and plant metallurgical quality systems. This position is ideal for someone who has the capability and the desire to grow technically and develop into a process specialist/leader in bearing manufacturing. The ideal candidate has a detailed understanding of bearing materials, metal working, and thermal treatment processes sufficient to diagnose process weaknesses, specify changes, and justify capital investments needed to capture improved process stability, productivity, and growth. Technical Expertise: Knowledgeable in ferrous materials and thermal treatment processes (hot working, carburizing, hardening, tempering, and austempering) of friction reducing components and associated component physical property changes. Should have expertise to specify new vendor or plant equipment and processes needed to manufacture and achieve targeted properties in high‑quality anti‑friction components. This includes developing, applying, and implementing technologies/processes at manufacturing and supplier facilities. Capital Project Management: Develop and implement investment proposals to support Timken’s business initiatives in the areas of materials optimization, thermal treatment, and related processes. This includes business case development, submission of Appropriation Requests (AR’s), forecasting expenditure, cost tracking and timely completion of projects within the approved budget. Manage and coordinate material and process selection, develop detailed project proposals including all necessary justifications and supporting documentation. Apply latest specification revisions to related work instructions. Technology Transformation: Create qualification plans for newly developed thermal treatment and related manufacturing processes. Provide audit support of new equipment and disposition of process additions or changes in product results. Manufacturing CI: Provide leadership on continuous improvement projects to increase throughput, improve quality, reduce costs, and enhance safety. Analyze and benchmark alternatives and conduct cost comparisons in support of Business Plan tactics. Work with vendors and manufacturing plants to identify opportunities and provide recommendations. Participate in developing and implementing continuous improvement solutions in thermal treatment and related processes. Develop, implement, improve, and maintain new and existing processes at vendors and in various Timken plants. This could include: Modifications to processes, operating procedures, tooling, thermal treatment cycles. Documentation of any recommendations, standard operating procedures, training materials and preventative maintenance. Metallographic data collection from sample trials in support of ideas. Product/Process Rationalization: Contribute analysis in support global product/ process rationalization through identification of capable vendors, and completion of first article inspection metallurgical requirements. Determine thermal and hot working process equivalencies with regards to quality system risks. Technical Support: Provide prompt technical support and service to manufacturing plants as requested. Help resolve production and maintenance issues. Utilize basic troubleshooting skills to provide appropriate solutions as quickly and safely as possible to minimize production downtime. Identify, alert, and correct safety and ergonomic problem areas to ensure a safe and productive work environment. Travel: Domestic and international travel to Timken plants and/or supplier locations is expected approximately 25% of the time. Technical/Functional Skills: Experience with heat treat process development (carburizing, hardening, tempering, austempering, etc.) and deployment. Quality systems exposure such as AS9100, NADCAP, AIAG CQI‑9, ISO9001, etc. Good understanding of ferrous metallurgy and metallurgical inspection methods. Ability to manage and complete short‑term and long‑term projects with little supervision. Ability to work in a team environment both as a leader and contributor. Prior experience with layout development and with the selection, specification and procurement of heat treat equipment is beneficial. Prior experience with surface coatings and plating is beneficial. Understanding of basic statistics including design and analysis of experiments. Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills. Strong written and oral communication skills. Proficiency in Microsoft Office, Microsoft Project, and knowledge of SAP and Teamcenter. Experience with statistical analysis of large datasets is useful. Knowledge of industrial ferrous component manufacturing is beneficial. Required Education/Experience: Bachelor’s degree in Metallurgical/Chemical/Mechanical Engineering or a related field with 4+ years of relevant work experience or a Master’s degree in engineering, materials engineering, MBA, or related field with 1+ years of relevant work experience. This position may require access to United States export controlled technical data (“CTD”) and hardware under the Departments of US State (ITAR) and/or Commerce (EAR). Eligible candidates are: US Citizens, Green Card holders, Asylees or others eligible to receive US export license authorizations. Candidate must be authorized to work in the US. All qualified applicants shall be treated equally according to their individual qualifications, abilities, experiences and other employment standards. There will be no discrimination due to gender or gender identity, race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, sexual orientation, veteran/military status or any other basis protected by applicable law. Timken is a global technology leader in engineered bearings and industrial motion. Our expanding portfolio of next‑generation solutions helps customers around the world improve efficiency, solve their toughest challenges, and push the boundaries of performance. We employ 19,000 people globally, operate from 45 countries, and posted $4.6 billion in sales in 2025. We have been recognized as one of America's Most Responsible Companies 6x by Newsweek and one of the World's Most Ethical Companies 15x by Ethisphere. Why Choose Timken? Over a century of knowledge and innovation A culture of top performance Products that contribute to a sustainable world A conviction to improve communities around us Competitive salary and benefits #J-18808-Ljbffr