Materials Manufacturing Innovation Engineer
About Formlabs:
Do you want to change how the world creates?
At Formlabs, we’re building the tools that make it possible for anyone to bring their ideas to life, from cutting-edge products to life-saving medical devices. Our 3D printing technology powers innovation at more than 50,000 industry leaders worldwide, including Apple, Google, Tesla, New Balance, and NASA. Together, we’re helping everyone design, prototype, and manufacture faster than ever before.
We’re a team of hands-on builders, engineers, and innovators reinventing how the world makes physical things. If you’re ready to shape the future of fabrication, come build it with us.
Why this role
Most specialty materials are still made the way they have been for decades: weigh, mix in a tank, filter, fill. We think there’s a better way to make them, and we want you to invent it.
Our R&D team creates innovative materials that push the limits of 3D printing, and we need proven manufacturing processes to produce our materials at scale and bring them to market. This isn’t a traditional process engineering role. You won’t be tuning existing equipment or running scale-up checklists. You’ll invent what materials manufacturing looks like next: set up proof of concept pilot processes for new manufacturing technologies, design new mixing and dispersion approaches, and smart control systems that catch a bad lot before it happens. You’ll prototype it, prove it, and put it on the plant floor.
If you’ve ever looked at a production line, thought "there has to be a better way", and then built it, this is your job.
No 3D printing experience required. We need someone who understands how materials behave at scale and can’t stop thinking of better ways to make them.
You might currently be called: Manufacturing Technology Engineer, Advanced Manufacturing Engineer, R&D Engineer, Innovation Engineer, Research Engineer, Technology Development Engineer, or Process Development Engineer.
What you’ll own
- An innovation roadmap for how Formlabs makes materials: where new technology could raise quality, cut cost, or let us make materials we can’t make today
- New manufacturing approaches from idea to plant floor: concept, bench experiments, prototype equipment, pilot runs, and the business case to deploy
- Co-invention with R&D, so new materials and the methods that make them are designed together from day one
- Scouting existing technologies that will improve cost throughput quality and bringing the best ideas into Formlabs
- Handing proven innovations to the plant team, with the documentation and training to run them
- Proving out at least one new manufacturing technology at bench or pilot scale, with a clear case for production
About you
- 4+ years building new manufacturing technology in chemicals, coatings, adhesives, inks, pharma, advanced materials, or a similar field, in industry
- A track record of introducing new manufacturing methods that has impacted product quality, cost or throughput
- Strong grounding in the science of making materials: mixing, heat and mass transfer, and rheology of viscous or filled fluids
- You move comfortably from first-principles thinking to a bench prototype to a pilot run
- You use designed experiments and data to tell good ideas from great ones, and you can build the business case for the one worth deploying
- Strong communication with cross-functional stakeholders
- BS, MS, or PhD in chemical engineering, materials science, mechanical engineering, polymer science, or a related field
Bonus skills
- Continuous manufacturing or process intensification
- Inline sensors, process analytical technology (PAT), or chemometrics
- Machine learning or AI applied to manufacturing data
- UV-curable or other photoreactive materials
- Polymer powder handling, for future SLS materials work
- Modeling, automation, or data tools (Python, COMSOL, PLC/DCS)
Our Benefits & Perks:
- Robust equity program to build future wealth through RSUs
- Comprehensive healthcare coverage (Medical, Dental, Vision)
- 401K matching and access to financial advisors
- Generous paid Parental Leave (up to 16 weeks)
- Tenure-based paid Sabbatical Leave (up to 6 weeks)
- Flexible Out of Office Plan – Take time when you need it
- Ample on-site parking & pre-tax commuter benefits
- Healthy on-site lunches, snacks, beverages, & treats
- Regular sponsored professional development opportunities
- Many opt-in culture events across our diverse community
- And of course… unlimited 3D prints
We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.
Even if you don't check every box, but see yourself contributing, please apply. Help us build an inclusive community that will change the face of 3D printing.
Our Candidate AI Guidelines are available here . Please give them a read.
Compensation
Every Formlabs employee receives equity because everyone contributes to building the company. You’ll have the opportunity to share financially in the value we create together, with a shared incentive to build a business that succeeds over the long term. Equity will be a significant portion of your total compensation, and will increase over time in proportion to your impact. The base pay will be determined by your skills, qualifications, experience, location, and expected impact on the organization.
The annual base pay range for this role is:
$99,000 — $148,000 USD