Lead Engineer - Material Mechanics and Durability

Job Description Summary

At GE Aerospace Research we play a vital role in supporting the industry through a historic recovery while shaping the future of flight. We invent the future of flight, lift people up and bring them home safely. Our commitment to lead the industry, to keep safe the flying public and the armed forces, and to lift up one another and our communities, remains our north star. Our purpose is what ties us to one another and gives meaning to our work.
The Lead Engineer role in the Material Mechanics and Durability organization is responsible for developing the understanding of novel materials and material systems. As a Lead Engineer you will conduct and coordinate experiments to probe the fundamental behavior of materials, and translate those results into constitutive models and failure criteria. You will participate in the development of state-of-the-art life prediction methods and tools for fatigue, creep and fracture of advanced material systems. You will also support critical field issues through analysis and testing.

Job Description

Responsibilities:

• • Perform mechanical testing of aerospace materials (including ceramic matrix composites, nickel-based superalloys, ceramic coatings, polymer matrix composites and others).
  • Develop material constitutive models and implement them in numerical tools such as ANSYS.
  • Develop failure criteria specific to material systems and various failure modes.
  • Work with internal customers to develop test plans, execute testing and maintain clear communication with customers throughout the process.
  • Collaborate with Aerospace Research colleagues to identify and resolve technical challenges for high temperature testing of materials and constitutive modeling.
  • Collaborate across Aerospace design communities in the development of component models, stress analysis and lifing methods for Ceramic Matrix Composites, barrier coatings and superalloys.
  • Serve as a technical resource to resolve key, short-term, high-risk technical issues in technical focus areas.
  • Develop and own technology roadmaps for various focus areas in computational and experimental mechanics.
  • Participate in responding to government grants.
  • Deliver effective presentations, reports and publications to engineering staff, GE Aerospace and external agencies, and guide the team in explaining outliers, debugging issues and refining plans.

Required Qualifications

• • PhD in mechanical engineering or a closely related discipline, or MS in mechanical engineering or a closely related discipline with at least 3 years of relevant experience.
  • Legal authorization to work in the U.S. is required. We will NOT sponsor individuals for employment visas, now or in the future, for this job opening.
  • Must be willing to work out of an office/lab located in Niskayuna, NY.

Desired Qualifications

• • Deep expertise in engineering mechanics and fracture mechanics, with familiarity and experience on finite element analysis tools.
  • Familiarity with phase field methods applied to structural mechanics problems.
  • Experience in designing and executing experimental test techniques (nickel-based superalloys and CMC materials).
  • Familiarity with high temperature experimental techniques, data acquisition systems, digital image correlation, acoustic emission techniques, infrared camera thermal measurements, etc.
  • In-depth knowledge of MTS and Instron test systems.

The base pay range for this position is $80,000 - $150,000 USD Annually. The specific pay offered may be influenced by a variety of factors, including the candidate’s experience, education, and skill set. This position is also eligible for an annual discretionary bonus based on a percentage of your base salary/ commission based on the plan. This posting is expected to close on December 30th, 2026.     

GE Aerospace offers comprehensive benefits and programs to support your health and, along with programs like HealthAhead, your physical, emotional, financial and social wellbeing. Healthcare benefits include medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug coverage; access to a Health Coach from GE Aerospace; and the Employee Assistance Program, which provides 24/7 confidential assessment, counseling and referral services. Retirement benefits include the GE Aerospace Retirement Savings Plan, a 401(k) savings plan with company matching contributions and company retirement contributions, as well as access to Fidelity resources and planning consultants. Other benefits include tuition assistance, adoption assistance, paid parental leave, disability insurance, life insurance, and paid time-off for vacation or illness. 

GE Aerospace (General Electric Company or the Company) and its affiliates each sponsor certain employee benefit plans or programs (i.e., is a “Sponsor”). Each Sponsor reserves the right to terminate, amend, suspend, replace or modify its benefit plans and programs at any time and for any reason, in its sole discretion. No individual has a vested right to any benefit under a Sponsor’s welfare benefit plan or program. This document does not create a contract of employment with any individual.

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This role requires access to U.S. export-controlled information. Therefore, employment will be contingent upon the ability to prove that you meet the status of a U.S. Person as one of the following: U.S. lawful permanent resident, U.S. Citizen, have been granted asylee or refugee status (i.e., a protected individual under the Immigration and Naturalization Act, 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)).

Additional Information

GE Aerospace will only employ those who are legally authorized to work in the United States for this opening. Any offer of employment is conditioned upon the successful completion of a drug screen (as applicable). Employees may also be subject to random and reasonable-suspicion drug and alcohol testing.