Materials Scientist / Engineer
Status: Open
- Pay
- $80–$130/hr
- Location
- Remote
- Employment type
- Contractor
- Openings
- 1
- Start
- We typically fill roles within 48 hours and are looking for experts ready to jump in right away. If selected, we expect you to start your first tasks within 24–48 hours of completing onboarding.
- Posted
- 2026-07-29
About this opportunity
Required skills
- materials science expertise
- materials characterization
- technical literature review
- scientific data interpretation
- clear written and verbal communication
- remote collaboration
- annotating technical datasets
- scenario and case study development
- quality assurance in scientific deliverables
- analytical skills
What you'll do
- Evaluate and solve advanced materials science and engineering problems spanning materials selection, failure analysis, testing, and process development.
- Review and assess AI-generated technical responses for technical correctness, accuracy, and engineering quality.
- Apply practical engineering judgment to real-world materials selection and failure scenarios and theoretical questions.
- Analyze and troubleshoot materials issues using industry-standard techniques such as microstructural analysis, fractography, mechanical testing (tensile, fatigue, hardness), and thermodynamic/kinetic modeling.
- Contribute domain expertise to inform model improvements and refine AI reasoning in materials science and engineering.
- Document feedback and provide clear written and verbal explanations to enhance AI learning and performance.
- Collaborate remotely with a distributed team of experts and project participants.
Preferred qualifications
- Bachelor's degree and above in Materials Science & Engineering, Metallurgy, or ME/ChemE with a materials specialization.
- At least 3 years of hands-on experience in materials selection, failure analysis, testing, or process development.
- Expert knowledge of material classes (metals, polymers, ceramics, composites), microstructure-property relationships, and degradation/failure mechanisms.
- Proven ability to analyze root-cause failures using fractography, metallography, and mechanical/thermal test data.
- Familiarity with relevant standards bodies (ASTM, ASM, ISO materials standards) and process qualification requirements.
- Professional English proficiency with exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
- Experience with materials characterization equipment (SEM, XRD, TEM, DSC/TGA) or process development in a manufacturing environment is a plus.
- Strongly preferred — evidence of problem-authoring rigor, such as: service on an olympiad problem committee; a textbook problem-set or solutions-manual author credit; an item-writer role on an NCEES or academic qualifying-exam committee; service on an ASTM, ASM, or ISO materials standards committee; a top placement or team-lead role in the TMS Materials Bowl, ASM International undergraduate design competition, or an MRS student award; a best-paper award at TMS Annual Meeting, MS&T, or MRS, or a publication in Acta Materialia / Nature Materials; an Acta Materialia Silver Medal; or an early-career fellowship/grant (NSF CAREER, DOE Early Career, Sloan Fellowship) or TMS Young Leader / MRS Outstanding Young Investigator recognition.