Senior Materials Scientist

Company Overview:

Flowserve is a global manufacturer of pumps, valves, seals, and aftermarket services, delivering comprehensive flow control solutions that support essential industries such as energy, clean water, and pharmaceuticals. If you're looking for a culture built on ingenuity, innovation, and excellence, Flowserve offers the opportunity to put your experience in motion. Whether you're an individual contributor or a people leader, you'll find meaningful opportunities for professional growth, competitive rewards, and a workplace grounded in our core values:
People, Safety, Integrity, Ownership and Ingenuity. At Flowserve, we're inspired by what we can achieve together—creating extraordinary flow control solutions that strengthen today's world while building tomorrow.

Senior Materials Scientist – Tribology & Advanced Ceramics Your Role and Impact

Flowserve is seeking a highly experienced Senior Materials Scientist – Tribology & Advanced Ceramics to lead the development of next-generation materials that improve the performance, reliability, and durability of mechanical seals and rotating equipment.

This newly created role represents a strategic investment in building an advanced materials capability within Flowserve. As the organization's technical expert in tribology and seal‑face materials, you will drive innovation across advanced ceramics, coatings, carbon materials, composites, and surface engineering technologies. Your work will directly influence product reliability, extend equipment life, and help solve some of the industry's most challenging wear and friction‑related problems.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead research and development of advanced materials, coatings, and surface‑engineered solutions for mechanical seal and rotating equipment applications.

• Develop innovative material systems that improve seal‑face performance, wear resistance, dry‑running capability, and overall product durability.

• Design and execute tribology, material characterization, and validation testing to evaluate friction, wear, lubrication behavior, and thermal performance.

• Perform root‑cause investigations on laboratory, manufacturing, and field failures, identifying degradation mechanisms and recommending corrective actions.

• Apply advanced characterization techniques including optical microscopy, electron microscopy, hardness testing, profilometry, and surface analysis methods.

• Partner with product engineering, manufacturing, quality, and supplier teams to optimize material selection, processing methods, and product performance.

• Collaborate with universities, research organizations, laboratories, and technology partners to accelerate material innovation and development.

• Serve as the technical authority for tribology and advanced seal‑face materials, providing guidance across engineering, manufacturing, and customer‑facing teams.

Required Qualifications

• Master's degree in Materials Science & Engineering, Ceramic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Physics, or a related technical discipline.

• 10+ years of industrial experience in materials research and development, advanced materials engineering, or related fields.

• Demonstrated experience developing and advancing material systems, formulations, or material technologies in a commercial environment.

• Strong expertise in tribology, including friction, wear, lubrication behavior, contact mechanics, and degradation mechanisms.

• Experience with advanced ceramics, coatings, carbon materials, composites, polymers, metals, or other performance‑critical material systems.

• Proven experience designing and interpreting tribology, material characterization, validation, and performance testing.

• Experience conducting failure analysis and structured root‑cause…