Concrete Materials Specialist

About Building Blocks

Building Blocks manufactures architectural facade systems in Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete (GFRC) and Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC) for commercial, institutional, and high-end residential projects across the U.S. The Materials Technology group develops and qualifies the materials behind every panel we ship, including FORMA, our proprietary white UHPC, and the DUALIS composite panel system.

Role Overview

The Concrete Materials Specialist owns the technical execution of our UHPC and GFRC materials program: running the Materials Testing Lab and the Color Lab, supporting production with mix designs and troubleshooting, structuring and executing R&D, and building the lab systems that make our data traceable. It is a hands-on, lab-based role for an early-career professional with a master's or PhD who is as comfortable running a flexural beam test as explaining the result to a production supervisor.

Key Responsibilities

Materials Testing Lab

• Run daily operations: test schedule, specimen chain of custody, calibration and preventive maintenance, consumables, safety (PPE, silica dust, SDS), and the lab budget.
• Execute and supervise fresh and hardened testing for UHPC and GFRC; keep complete, traceable records and issue timely reports.
• Supervise and train lab technicians with written procedures and documented sign-off per method; keep the lab audit-ready.
• Coordinate third-party and qualification testing with external laboratories.

Color Lab

• Own pigment selection and dosing for UHPC and GFRC and maintain a controlled color recipe register with reference panels for every project and the standard library.
• Match colors to client references under controlled lighting; set instrumented tolerances as measurement comes online.
• Investigate color variation, efflorescence, and finish defects to root cause and drive fixes into recipes and procedures.
• Ensure sample recipes scale to production without color drift; qualify new pigments and suppliers.

Production Support

• Issue and maintain approved mix designs with validated adjustment ranges; verify and approve or quarantine raw material lots at receiving.
• Run pre-pour checks on critical casts and be the first call on the floor for workability, set, fiber, surface, curing, and demolding problems; record cause and corrective action.
• Verify curing and strength before panel release; hold the daily hand-off with the QC Manager and attend weekly production planning.
• Lead trials for new raw materials or process changes with a written plan, acceptance criteria, and report.

Engineering, Qualification, and Compliance

• Review the materials portions of specifications and submittals and answer technical questions from engineers of record, contractors, and clients on properties, results, and ACI/PCI/ASTM compliance.
• Own the lab's part of the FORMA qualification program and support impact, wind-load, and other cladding tests at third-party laboratories.
• Maintain the material compliance file for each product and flag when a mix or material change requires re-testing.
• Support hybrid UHPC/GFRC product development and contribute to companywide materials standards.

Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS)

• Lead, with the Director, the design and implementation of a LIMS that integrates test records, mix designs, color recipes, raw material lots, calibration records, and reports.
• Map current records, define the data model for end-to-end traceability, write requirements, evaluate build-versus-buy options, and recommend a solution with budget and rollout plan.
• Migrate data, configure workflows and templates, train users, and own the system after go-live.

R&D and New Capabilities

• Build the annual R&D roadmap with the Director; open each project with a one-page charter (hypothesis, test matrix, methods, success criteria, schedule).
• Run programs on fiber reinforcement, FORMA variants and raw-material alternatives, durability and weathering, finish and color stability, and hybrid systems through stage gates from lab feasibility to production release.
• Analyze results statistically, write a report per project, and present at the monthly R&D review.
• Specify, justify, and commission new tests and equipment; write internal procedures and the lab's contribution to the UHPC Quality Plan.

Role Requirements

• Education (Required): Master's or PhD in Civil Engineering, Materials Science, or a closely related field with a concentration in cementitious materials.
• Experience (Required): 0–5 years post-graduate (graduate research counts); hands-on UHPC formulation, production, or testing; laboratory experience with standard concrete methods including but not limited to ASTM C1856, C39, C1609, C1202, and C666; authorization to work in the United States.
• Tools (Required): strong Excel skills (records are Excel-based today; this role leads the LIMS implementation); statistical methods for test data (control charts, basic DOE, regression); formal test report writing; company ERP for lots and inventory.
• Preferred: GFRC experience (spray-up or premix, ASTM C947/C948/C1230); pigments and color in cementitious materials; architectural precast or cladding qualification programs (ASTM C1186, AAMA 508, impact and wind-load); ACI Field or Laboratory Testing Technician certification; supervising technicians; published UHPC or durability research; LIMS, QMS, or database implementation.
• Physical and schedule: lift up to 50 lb; occasional travel (5–10%) to external labs, job sites, suppliers, or industry events.

Building Blocks is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

Note to Recruitment Agencies: We love your enthusiasm, but we prefer to connect with our candidates directly. Building Blocks is not partnering with external agencies for this search, so please save the outreach, we've got this one covered. Any resumes submitted without a signed agreement in place will become the property of Building Blocks and no fees will be paid.