Principal Materials Scientist at inversionspace

Compensation

$175,000 – $244,000/yr

Location: Los Angeles, California
Type: Full-time
Level: staff+
Posted: Aug 13, 2026

Description

Inversion is hiring a Principal Materials Scientist to lead development, characterization, prototyping, scaling, and automated production of high-performance, low-cost ablative thermal protection system materials for reentry vehicles. The on-site Playa Vista role requires extensive extreme-temperature materials experience, composite manufacturing and testing expertise, mentoring ability, and eligibility for U.S. government security clearance and ITAR-related authorization.

Required Skills

Materials formulation
Thermal characterization
Carbon phenolic
Composite manufacturing
Mechanical testing
Arc jet testing
Ablation modeling
Thermophysical testing
Technical mentoring

Additional Information

Minimum Education: Bachelor's degree in materials science, materials engineering, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, or equivalent relevant experience
Required Previous Experiences: 12 or more years developing, formulating, or producing materials for extreme-temperature environments
Experience with carbon phenolic ablators, reinforced carbon/carbon, or refractory ceramic matrix composites
Experience prototyping and scaling materials fabrication processes
Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government Secret or Top Secret security clearance
Preferred Qualifications: PhD in materials science or a related field
Experience with woven, felted, or needled high-temperature fiber preforms
Large-scale composite manufacturing automation experience
Experience transitioning materials from laboratory formulation through flight qualification
Startup or small-team experience
ITAR eligibility or ability to obtain required U.S. Department of State authorizations