Principal Additive Manufacturing Engineer

Arcturus · Los Angeles

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Principal Additive Manufacturing Engineer

Los Angeles, CA (in-person)

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 an early principal technical hire and help define how Arcturus turns metal additive manufacturing into a core company capability. This is a high-ownership individual contributor role for someone who wants to solve hard manufacturing problems, mentor others, and help build a first-of-its-kind materials platform from the ground up.

Purpose

We are seeking a Principal Additive Manufacturing Engineer who can own major AM process development workstreams across LPBF, DED, and related metal processing methods. This person will help develop, troubleshoot, and scale additive manufacturing processes for carbon nanomaterial-infused aluminum and copper systems, translating ambiguous technical goals into repeatable process windows, hardware decisions, and measurable material performance.

The role

This role will work closely with Arcturus’ CEO.

What you’ll do

• Own major additive manufacturing workstreams across LPBF, DED, and related metal processing approaches for infused metal parts and wire

• Develop process windows for aluminum and copper systems that preserve conductivity, mechanical integrity, and carbon nanomaterial performance through fabrication

• Lead parameter development, build strategy, scan strategy, thermal management, and machine/process troubleshooting

• Serve as a senior technical voice on metal AM process physics, melt pool behavior, lasers, machine behavior, powder/feedstock handling, and print quality

• Lead design-for-additive-manufacturing decisions, including build orientation, support strategy, geometry tradeoffs, distortion risk, and downstream process readiness

• Diagnose and resolve print failures including porosity, cracking, distortion, poor bonding, inconsistent density, geometry drift, and surface quality issues

• Build process maps that connect machine inputs, feedstock, atmosphere, thermal history, and post-processing to material outcomes

• Partner with nanomaterials, process, characterization, mechanical, and product engineering to connect print process to final conductor performance

• Develop qualification plans, build records, process documentation, and acceptance criteria for repeatable development and future scale-up

• Use DOE, data analysis, and structured root-cause methods to improve yield, repeatability, throughput, and cost

• Mentor junior engineers, interns, and technicians as the AM team grows

• Contribute to invention disclosures, patent strategy, and internal technical documentation with a high bar for rigor and clarity
  

Basic qualifications

• BS, MS, or PhD in mechanical engineering, materials science, manufacturing engineering, welding engineering, metallurgical engineering, physics, or a related field

• 5+ years of hands-on experience in additive manufacturing, advanced manufacturing, metal processing, powder metallurgy, laser processing, welding, or a closely related field

• Strong experience with metal AM processes such as LPBF, DED, WAAM, EBAM, cold spray, powder metallurgy, or related metal processing methods

• Strong understanding of melt pool physics, heat transfer, solidification, residual stress, metallurgical behavior, and process-structure-property relationships

• Demonstrated experience developing, optimizing, troubleshooting, and documenting manufacturing or AM processes in real hardware environments

• Ability to lead technical workstreams, mentor others, and drive ambiguous problems toward clear technical decisions

• Strong scientific and technical writing skills, including process documentation, test plans, specifications, and invention disclosures
  

Preferred qualifications

• Deep experience with LPBF and/or DED process development

• Experience printing or processing aluminum and/or copper alloys

• Experience with metal matrix composites, unusual feedstocks, carbon nanomaterial-infused metals, or other non-standard AM material systems

• Experience with machine-level AM development, including lasers, optics, motion systems, shielding gas, powder handling, feedstock delivery, sensing, or controls

• Familiarity with AM build preparation tools, CAD, slicing, support generation, scan strategy setup, and print simulation workflows

• Experience qualifying and scaling AM processes in aerospace, automotive, energy, or another high-performance manufacturing environment

• Experience working in a startup or first-of-its-kind manufacturing environment
  

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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