Materials Process Engineer

An educational platform on tribology — the science of friction, wear and lubrication

Who is it for

Engineers, researchers, students and industry professionals

Driven by our vision of the affordable, reliable, net‑zero carbon grid of the future, Mainspring has developed a new category of power generation — the linear generator — that delivers local, scalable, and fuel‑flexible power to help accelerate the transition to the net‑zero carbon grid.

The unique combination of attributes offered by Mainspring’s linear generator enables applications on both the commercial and utility sides of the meter for the $816B global electricity equipment market. We serve a wide range of Fortune 500 customers across markets and industries as well as top‑tier utilities and other gridside providers.

We are looking to build relationships with people who share our values:

• Pragmatic Optimism. Building a new category of world‑class power generation requires the optimism of ambition and creativity, balanced with practicality to solve problems efficiently. The challenges that arise are opportunities for growth.
• Excellence without Ego. We bring expertise and commitment to creating the best customer experience, from sales to deployment and service, just as we apply deep technical rigor to building and delivering world‑class products. We strive for excellence and behave as leaders with the humility to acknowledge our challenges, both collectively and as individual contributors.
• Proactive Collaboration. The integration and cross‑disciplinary nature of Mainspring’s business requires intentionally seeking out others who bring different skills, perspectives, and priorities. Our culture of inclusion and respect extends beyond our team to interactions with our partners and customers.

Mainspring is based in Menlo Park and has partnered with top‑tier investors and utilities such as Khosla Ventures, Bill Gates, NextEra, and American Electric Power. More information can be found at

Responsibilities

We have a high‑impact opportunity for a Materials and Process Engineer who wants to join a world‑class engineering team and help scale production of the Linear Generator. The materials and process team at Mainspring Energy works on complex development projects which are at the intersection of properties, performance and processing of a wide range of materials – non ferrous, ferrous, coatings, polymers etc.

In this role, you will develop reliable cost effective solutions and manage existing solutions through validation testing, process development and deployment on an actual part/subassembly. This is a great opportunity to be part of cross functional projects and collaborate with multiple teams such as Supply chain, Quality, Reliability, Design and Production.

Core Responsibilities Will Include The Following

• Execute material testing programs to characterize performance and qualify process and vendors. Understand and utilize standard test methodologies and develop new tests for specialized applications including but not limited to tribology, corrosion, strength and fatigue
• Work with several cross functional teams to develop material and process specifications
• Work with design engineers in the development and implementation of the risk analysis process
• Participate in FMEA for design, process and maintenance
• Optimize materials specifications and processes for cost and reliability
• Work cross‑functionally to develop and optimize critical processes for high‑volume manufacturing with thermal spray coatings, plated & painted coatings, welds, and thermomechanical processing of ferrous/non‑ferrous alloys

Qualifications

• BS in Materials Science/Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or Metallurgy required. Advanced degree is a plus
• Minimum 4 years of relevant industry experience as a Materials, Process or Mechanical engineer, 2 years with advanced degree
• Deep understanding of properties and performance of engineering materials, and basic knowledge of structure‑property relationships and failure mechanisms such as fatigue, creep, and corrosion
• Minimum of 2 years of experience with process development – working with vendors, preparing qualification plans and reports, and writing specifications
• Basic data Analysis and reporting capabilities (Matlab/Python, Google Docs, Weibull ++, etc.)

Preferred Qualifications

• Basic knowledge of statistics and evaluation of process capability
• Experience with materials testing
• Excellent communication skills, capable of being a technical subject matter expert
• Understanding and use of FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis)
• Adaptable self‑starter, capable of thriving in a fast‑paced environment

The Bay Area salary for this role is $118k-$167k base + pre‑IPO stock options + benefits. This position can be hybrid. The salary will be adjusted to reflect local market conditions based on employee location as well as the experience of the employee.