Lead Additive Manufacturing Engineer
Arcturus · Los Angeles
About Arcturus
Arcturus is creating a new wire technology stack that uses carbon nanomaterials to overcome the materials limitations of metals where performance breaks down, at real operating temperatures. Our technology is designed to significantly improve the performance of electric motors for drones and robotics, heat sinks, and ultimately the entire energy grid.
Why you should join us
This is a ground-floor opportunity to help build something that has never been done before.
You would join as a founding engineer and become Arcturus’ first additive manufacturing engineer, with the chance to define the company’s metal printing strategy from the beginning. You will work directly with the Founder and CEO to shape the technical direction of our manufacturing platform and help build a category-defining materials company from scratch.
Purpose
We are seeking a Lead Additive Manufacturing Engineer who can own the development of Arcturus’ metal printing platform across LPBF and DED-based approaches, starting with aluminum and copper systems infused with carbon nanomaterials like graphene and carbon nanotubes. This person should be deeply fluent in how metal additive systems actually work, from lasers and optics to melt pool behavior, thermal history, shielding environments, material delivery, and process control, and be able to translate that knowledge into repeatable, scalable manufacturing capability.
The role
This role reports directly to the CEO
What you’ll do
Own Arcturus’ additive manufacturing roadmap across LPBF and DED workflows for infused metal parts and wire
Define and optimize print processes for copper and aluminum, including parameter development, thermal management, build strategy, and system-level tradeoffs
Establish process windows that preserve conductivity, mechanical integrity, and nanomaterial performance through fabrication
Serve as the company’s internal expert on metal AM process physics, machine behavior, lasers, and print quality
Lead design-for-additive-manufacturing decisions, including build orientation, support strategy, scan strategy, and geometry tradeoffs that affect printability and final part performance
Diagnose and solve print failures including porosity, cracking, distortion, poor bonding, and geometry drift
Build qualification plans, process documentation, and acceptance criteria for repeatable development and future scale-up
Define feedstock, shielding gas, and contamination-control practices that preserve material quality and process repeatability
Use DOE, data analysis, and structured root-cause methods to optimize process windows and improve yield, repeatability, throughput, and cost
Partner closely with nanomaterials, characterization, mechanical, and product engineering to connect print process to final conductor performance
Contribute to invention disclosures, patent strategy, and internal technical documentation with a high bar for rigor and clarity
Basic qualifications
MS, or PhD in metallurgical engineering, mechanical engineering, materials science, manufacturing engineering, welding engineering, physics, or a related field
8+ years of hands-on experience in metal additive manufacturing, advanced process development, or closely related manufacturing systems
Deep expertise in metal AM processes, especially LPBF and ideally DED or laser-based directed energy systems
Strong understanding of lasers, optics, melt pool physics, heat transfer, solidification, residual stress, and metallurgical process-structure-property relationships
Demonstrated experience developing, optimizing, troubleshooting, and scaling AM processes in real hardware environments
Strong scientific and technical writing skills, including clear documentation of process development, test plans, specifications, and invention disclosures
Preferred qualifications
Experience printing aluminum and/or copper alloys
Experience with machine-level AM development, including motion systems, powder handling, feedstock delivery, sensing, or controls
Experience qualifying and scaling AM hardware in a high-performance manufacturing environment
Familiarity with CAD and AM build preparation tools, including slicing, scan strategy setup, support generation, and print simulation workflows
Familiarity with metal matrix composites or other non-standard AM material systems
What we offer
Competitive cash compensation and meaningful equity
Direct technical ownership over a core manufacturing platform
The chance to define the playbook for nanomaterial-enhanced metal additive manufacturing
Relocation support for employees moving from outside the Los Angeles area
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