UDRI is a national leader in scientific and engineering research, serving government, industry and nonprofit customers. UDRI contributes to the fulfillment of the University’s commitments to education, research and public service through the involvement of students, faculty and external partners. Established as the research arm of the University of Dayton in 1956, UDRI achieved $2.75 billion in cumulative sponsored research in 2020. Sponsored research for 2022 alone exceeded $220 million. Join our team as a Materials Engineer!

This position is for an on-site engineer working at the Composites, Ceramics, Metallic & Materials Performance Division of the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The position will support the technical areas of adhesives, composites, and other polymer systems. The hired individual shall have an understanding of polymeric materials and processes, as well as standardized tests to evaluate physical, thermal, and mechanical properties of polymeric materials. This person is responsible for interacting with government engineers, executing technical programs, and providing results of technical programs via written reports and oral presentations.


Minimum Qualifications

For an R1 position, the candidate must possess:
• Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering, Polymer Engineering, Materials Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemistry, or other related/equivalent degree.
• Experience working in a laboratory to evaluate materials via physical, thermal, and mechanical property tests.
• Due to the nature of the position, U.S. citizenship and the ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance are required.
• Effective written communication skills.
• Excellent organizational skills and have a proven history of working on multiple technical projects simultaneously.
• Proficiency using Microsoft Word, Excel, and Power Point.

An R2 must meet all R1 minimum qualifications in addition to the qualifications listed below:
• To be considered for an R2 position, the candidate must possess an applicable degree plus the following job experience (BS + 3 yrs experience / MS + 2 yrs experience / PhD + 1 yr experience).
 

Preferred Qualifications

While not everyone may possess all of the preferred qualifications, the ideal candidate will bring many of the following:

• Demonstrated experience working with various polymer matrix composite materials (epoxies, bismaleimides, and/or polyimides with glass, carbon, and/or aramid reinforcements) using a variety of techniques such as autoclave processing, vacuum bag only processing, and/or resin infusion.
• Demonstrated experience working with structural adhesive materials including film adhesives, paste adhesives, and foam adhesives, as well as coupling agents, and/or adhesive bond primers on both metallic and polymeric materials as appropriate.
• Demonstrated experience performing prebond surface preparations such as grit-blasting, sanding, anodizing, sol-gel treatment, and acid etches.
• Demonstrated experience performing thermal and rheological analysis on polymeric materials such as differential scanning calorimetry, dynamic mechanical analysis, thermal gravimetric analysis, and thermal mechanical analysis.
• Demonstrated experience performing mechanical property coupon tests on composite and/or adhesively-bonded materials.
• Proven history of writing test plans, authoring reports/papers, contributing to proposals, and providing technical presentations at meetings, conferences, and symposia.

Special Instructions to Applicants
To apply please submit a cover letter addressing each minimum qualification and any applicable preferred qualifications that you meet.



Informed by its Catholic and Marianist mission, the University is committed to the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Informed by this commitment, we seek to increase diversity, achieve equitable outcomes, and model inclusion across our campus community. As an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer, we will not discriminate against minorities, women, protected veterans, individuals with disabilities, or on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity.