Materials and Process Innovation Engineer

1X

Since its founding in 2015, 1X has been at the forefront of developing advanced humanoid robots designed for household use. Our mission is to create an abundant supply of labor through safe, intelligent humanoids.

We strive for excellence in all we do, solving some of the hardest problems in robotics with the world’s most talented individuals. Every part of our robots is designed and produced in house, from motor coils to AI, reflecting our vertically integrated approach. At 1X, you will own real projects, be recognized for your achievements, and be rewarded based on merit.

We are seeking a Materials and Process Engineer with a passion for transforming advanced materials into stable and scalable manufacturing processes. This role is ideal for an engineer who enjoys building the bridge from early research to full scale production, using a deep understanding of soft materials, precision processing, and modern fabrication techniques.

You will mature polymer systems, elastomers, textiles, composites, coatings, and multilayer structures into reliable production ready materials. You will collaborate closely with chemists, materials scientists, modeling engineers, mechanical designers, industrial designers, and supply chain teams to ensure that every material innovation can be manufactured at scale for safe and capable humanoid robots.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop, optimize, and scale processes involving polymer mixing, casting, coating, laminating, molding, fiber processing, calendaring, embossing, and thermoforming for soft and flexible material systems.

• Implement advanced fabrication methods including 3D printing of elastomers and composite structures, photolithography for patterned sensing layers, and precision coating or printing of functional materials.

• Conduct pilot scale trials to evaluate consistency, throughput, surface quality, dimensional accuracy, and long term stability of new processes.

• Characterize material behavior and process sensitivity through mechanical testing, thermal analysis, chemical analysis, adhesion testing, and durability evaluations.

• Work closely with polymer chemists and materials scientists to connect processing parameters to microstructure, mechanical response, tactile characteristics, and long term performance.

• Partner with mechanical design teams to ensure processing routes align with product architectures, tolerances, joining strategies, and assembly requirements.

• Identify equipment, tooling, and production methods that enable high volume manufacturing, including roll to roll processes, precision coating lines, calendaring mills, embossing dies, and specialized curing systems including UV and controlled atmosphere processing.

• Create detailed documentation of processing methods, material specifications, test data, and validation protocols to support manufacturing readiness and knowledge transfer.

• Stay current on emerging fabrication technologies such as advanced additive manufacturing, micro patterning, soft material printing, and continuous processing methods.

Required Qualifications

• MSc or PhD Degree in materials engineering, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, or a related field.

• 2+ years in industry or postdoc roles directly related to polymer processing or device fabrication

• Experience with processing of polymers, elastomers, composites, textiles, or multilayer material systems.

• Hands-on experience with fabrication techniques such as calendaring, embossing, casting, coating, lamination, fiber processing, or thermoforming.

• Familiarity with advanced methods such as 3D printing of soft materials, photolithography, or precision patterning of functional layers.

• Strong understanding of material characterization and process validation.

• Ability to translate lab formulations or early prototypes into stable and repeatable manufacturing processes.

• Comfort working across disciplines and collaborating with chemists, engineers, designers, and manufacturing teams.

• First principles thinker with strong analytical and problem solving skills.

• Excellent communication and documentation skills suited to a fast moving, cross functional environment.

We believe the best work is done when collaborating and therefore require in-person presence in our office locations.