Materials Engineer II

This range is provided by Antares. Your actual pay will be based on your skills and experience — talk with your recruiter to learn more.

$/yr - $/yr

At Antares, our long-term mission is to make clean energy abundant from Earth to the Asteroid Belt. We’re fueled by the belief that advanced nuclear energy can strengthen our military, solve the climate crisis, elevate global living standards, and expand humanity's presence in outer space. To achieve our mission, we’re building mass-producible, inherently safe, deployable microreactors that can be used terrestrially, underwater, and in space.

Formed in 2023, the Antares team hails from Space

X, The White House, MIT, Rigetti Computing, The Air Force, General Atomics, Relativity Space, Ursa Major, and National Laboratories like Los Alamos, Idaho, and Oak Ridge. Antares has raised over $130M in venture capital from top-tier investors and has over $13M in government funding.

As a Materials Engineer you will aid in the development and qualification of all materials in Antares’ reactor systems. This will consist of developing experiments, processes, and quality control as well as working with vendors and collaborators to identify and rectify critical gaps in material behavior at our operating conditions. This position requires the ability to learn quickly and develop a deep understanding of a wide range of materials – including ceramics and metallic alloys – such that you become the go‑to subject matter expert at the company.

The ideal candidate will apply fundamental knowledge of materials science to the practical applications of manufacturing in a fast‑paced environment while also pushing innovation for the next generation of materials – driving Antares to be a recognized leader in nuclear materials.

• Partake in the development and qualification for all materials in the reactor, including lifetime testing, cross-institutional collaboration, and property evaluation
• Design and conduct physical, thermal, and mechanical testing of materials that replicates the reactor environment
• Employ statistical methods to systematically evaluate effects of process variables and environmental effects on materials properties
• Conduct materials characterization including root cause investigations of failure modes
• Interface with manufacturing, neutronics, mechanical, testing, and quality engineers to integrate materials into the overall system, define limits to operating conditions based on material properties, and optimize processes

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Materials Engineering, or a related field
• 3+ years of experience in materials engineering
• Proficiency in optical or electron microscopy as well as mechanical property evaluation
• Experience with Materials characterization including root cause investigations of failure modes

• 5+ years demonstrated experience as part of integrated team in a production setting
• Knowledge of radiation effects in materials
• Knowledge of stainless steel, Ni based superalloys, and ceramics
• Knowledge of Graphite or other nuclear materials
• Coatings experience
• Exceptional communication skills to work effectively across teams and convey technical information to non-specialists

• Ability to work long hours and weekends as necessary to support critical milestones

We are located in Torrance, CA in a 145,000 square foot, brand new facility featuring large open spaces for team collaboration, R&D, and production, as well as easy access to the 405, 105, and 110 freeways. Our facility is in the heart of Los Angeles' vibrant emerging tech ecosystem alongside many other high growth startups and enterprises.

At Antares, we like to specifically tie each role to our founding document’s set of values–here are the top five cultural values we think you should believe at your core to be successful:

• Think in Systems - Energy and Defense are complex ecosystems with numerous stakeholders with competing priorities, conflicting policies, perverse incentives, and emergent and path-dependent properties. First principles thinking…