Senior SRM Quality Engineer - Energetics

Ursa Major · Berthoud · $107,000–$133,000 (stated in the posting)

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Overview

The Senior SRM Quality Engineer – Energetics owns product and process quality for solid rocket motor propellant manufacturing: ammonium perchlorate (AP) milling, propellant mixing, casting, and cure. This is a hands-on, high-ownership role embedded with our Manufacturing, Engineering, and Development teams, with a primary mission of ensuring process control and product integrity from raw energetic materials through a cured, inspected motor.

This engineer will also build out our in-house radiographic NDT capability, working alongside a Level 3 NDT technician. That means optimizing our existing X-ray system in the near term, then standing up additional radiography systems as program needs grow, and using radiographic findings to drive improvements back into the propellant processes. While the role supports broader SRM quality (insulation, liners, composites, FOD control) and compliance efforts, energetics process quality and radiography are its core.

This role reports into the Quality organization and is fully integrated with the SRM energetics, product, and manufacturing teams. It works closely with the Level 3 NDT technician, the site Radiation Safety Officer, EHS and process safety, propellant engineering, and the SRM-focused supply chain engineer.

Core Responsibilities

Energetics Process Quality

Own the quality of propellant manufacturing processes in close partnership with our design and energetics engineers, who set product and process requirements. Quality's role is to ensure those requirements are validated and consistently met in production for:

• AP milling and particle size measurements/morphology: particle size distribution verification, mill parameter control, moisture control, lot traceability, and blend ratios of coarse/fine fractions.
• Mixing: raw material acceptance and lot control, ingredient weigh-up verification, mix sequence and parameter control (time, temperature, vacuum, shear), and in-process sampling and testing (e.g., viscosity, pot life, end-of-mix properties).
• Casting: vacuum casting parameter control, pot life management, void prevention, flow and fill verification, and witness/test specimen generation.
• Cure: cure cycle verification and monitoring against engineering-defined profiles, oven and temperature uniformity verification, data recording and review, and post-cure property testing (e.g., hardness, mechanical properties, density).

Within these processes, the engineer will:

• Work with design and energetics engineers to identify critical process parameters and key characteristics, then implement the sampling plans, inspections, and reaction plans that verify them.
• Validate that engineering-defined propellant and ingredient acceptance criteria, specifications, and lot release requirements are met, and flag requirements that are unclear or can't be verified.
• Apply SPC and data-driven methods to monitor batch-to-batch consistency and detect process drift early.
• Facilitate process FMEAs and control plans with engineering for new and changing energetics processes.
• Lead process qualification and validation with engineering, defining when an energetics process is qualified and frozen, and own change control for qualified processes.
• Own review and release of energetics batch records (weigh-ups, mix parameters, cure profiles) and ensure data integrity.
• Work closely with the SRM-focused supply chain engineer on energetic raw material quality, including incoming acceptance and lot-to-lot variability.
• Ensure test equipment and instrumentation supporting energetics processes (balances, thermocouples, rheometers, particle size analyzers, ovens) are calibrated and fit for use, and lead MSA / gage R&R on critical test methods (e.g., viscosity, particle size, mechanical properties, density).
• Embed quality requirements within energetics safety constraints, working closely with EHS and process safety teams.

Radiographic NDT: Optimize and Build Out

Own our radiography capability for SRM inspection, first optimizing the existing system and then standing up new systems as needed. Responsibilities are split as follows: the Level 3 NDT technician owns technique development, procedures, and personnel certification; the site Radiation Safety Officer owns radiation safety and licensing; and this engineer owns inspection requirements, acceptance criteria, capital projects, and integration with production.

• Optimize the existing system:
  • Assess current X-ray equipment against SRM inspection needs (motor size, defect types such as voids, cracks, and bondline separations, and required sensitivity).
  • Drive the improvement roadmap for technique, fixturing, and image quality, and lead capability demonstrations on representative defect standards, with the Level 3 owning technique development and procedure qualification.
  • Increase throughput and reliability while the system remains in production use.
• Stand up new systems:
  • Define requirements for additional radiography systems (e.g., larger-format motors, real-time radiography, or CT) as program needs grow.
  • Lead equipment evaluation, facility layout, and installation, and recommend capital investments for new systems. Coordinate with the site Radiation Safety Officer, who owns radiation safety and licensing.
  • Qualify each new system and bring it into production use, accounting for explosives safety and siting constraints when imaging loaded motors.
• Across all systems:
  • Partner with design engineering as they define radiographic acceptance criteria for propellant grains, bondlines, and case/insulation interfaces, and validate inspections against them.
  • Support the Level 3's NDT personnel qualification and certification program (e.g., NAS 410 / SNT-TC-1A written practice) and integrate it into the QMS.
  • Integrate radiography records with dispositions and MRB.
  • Close the loop between inspection and process: trace radiographic indications (voids, cracks, bondline separations) back to mix, cast, and cure parameters, and drive corrective action with engineering.

Broader SRM Quality

• Serve as the quality point of contact across SRM development and production campaigns.
• Support quality control for related SRM processes, including insulation, liner, and inhibitor application; composites layup and cure; and case preparation and bonding.
• Drive FOD prevention and cleanliness control in energetics and motor assembly areas.
• Establish and maintain in-process inspection criteria, checkpoints, and traveler sign-offs.
• Lead root cause analysis, rapid containment, and corrective action for nonconformances; support MRB dispositions.
• Exercise authority to stop processing, place lots on hold, and reject product that does not meet requirements, and serve as a quality member of MRB.
• Develop clear, usable quality documentation, including inspection plans, control plans, and work instructions.
• Train and coach production personnel in quality standards and best practices.
• Support internal and external audits and AS9100 compliance.
• Champion a culture of quality, ownership, and continuous improvement on the production floor.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Chemistry, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent hands-on experience).
• 5+ years in a manufacturing quality engineering or process engineering role, ideally in aerospace, defense, or energetic materials.
• Hands-on experience with energetic materials or comparable hazardous batch chemical processes (mixing, casting, curing, or particle size reduction).
• Strong working knowledge of process-based quality tools: process validation, control plans, PFMEA, SPC, MSA / gage R&R, and root cause analysis.
• Experience owning an inspection capability or capital project from requirements through production use.
• Experience with AS9100 and/or ISO 9001 quality standards.
• Demonstrated ability to operate hands-on in fast-paced, safety-critical environments.
• Strong communication, documentation, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to obtain an ATF employee possessor license.

Preferred

• Direct experience with composite solid propellant (e.g., AP/HTPB) manufacturing, including AP grinding or milling.
• Experience improving, expanding, or qualifying an NDT capability, particularly radiography or computed tomography (CT) of SRMs.
• Familiarity with radiographic NDT principles and image quality requirements, NAS 410 / SNT-TC-1A, and ASTM radiographic standards.
• Experience with propellant characterization methods (rheology, mechanical properties, burn rate, particle size analysis).
• Familiarity with DoD energetics and explosives safety requirements (e.g., DESR 6055.09).
• Experience with insulation, liner, and composite case manufacturing.
• Experience in cleanroom or FOD-sensitive environments.

Colorado law requires us to tell you the base compensation range of this role, which is $107,000 - $133,000, determined by your education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities. What we can’t quantify for you are the exciting challenges, supportive team, and amazing culture we enjoy. 

Classification: Full-time Exempt

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