---
title: 'Materials Engineer: Metal Additive Manufacturing at HRL Laboratories'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/materials-engineer-metal-additive-manufacturing-hrl-laboratories-malibu-dtwgvs1rdffg'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-11'
---

# Materials Engineer: Metal Additive Manufacturing at HRL Laboratories

- **Company:** HRL Laboratories
- **Location:** Malibu, CA
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-08-12
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-11
- **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/dodmg/568b5b94-f9d9-42fc-b54f-0046c764e5c6

## Job description

HRL Laboratories, an IBM company, pioneers the next frontiers of physical and information science. Delivering transformative technologies in automotive, aerospace and defense, HRL advances the critical missions of its customers to help them remove limitations and create competitive advantage. HRL then transitions the work back to customers – ready for real-world application. For more than 70 years, HRL’s rich portfolio of scientific discoveries and engineering innovations continues to build on each other — often in unexpected, profound and far-reaching ways. As a private company owned by IBM, HRL prioritizes purpose over profit, significantly advancing the state of the art. HRL Laboratories advances critical structural and functional materials and semiconductor devices that enable precision navigation, quantum technologies and extreme-environment performance. With expertise from design through deployment, we deliver scalable, high-performance solutions that transform our customers’ missions. Our work leverages digital manufacturing and scalable microfabrication techniques to meet tomorrow’s toughest challenges.

Position Summary:

In this role, you will be part of a multidisciplinary team of engineers and scientists developing new materials and additive manufacturing processes for aerospace applications. This role offers the opportunity to make an immediate impact on a high-profile, America Makes funded project shaping the future of metal additive manufacturing. We are looking for a self-driven engineer interested in learning and advancing within our group.

HRL Laboratories advances critical structural and functional materials and semiconductor devices that enable precision navigation, quantum technologies and extreme-environment performance. With expertise from design through deployment, we deliver scalable, high-performance solutions that transform our customers’ missions. Our work leverages digital manufacturing and scalable microfabrication techniques to meet tomorrow’s toughest challenges.

Essential Duties:

- Operate laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) metal 3D printers
- Design, CAD, fabricate, and assemble prototype components and systems using additive manufacturing and conventional machining
- Characterize 3D printed materials by pycnometry, x-ray computed tomography, metallography, etc.
- Perform optical and scanning electron microscopy
- Set up and operate mechanical tests to characterize tensile strength and fatigue life
- Coordinate outside vendors for specialty testing or analyses
- Summarize key findings in written documents and slides

Required Qualifications:

- BA/BS or master’s degree in engineering or physical sciences
- 0-3 years of experience
- Understanding of the basic principles of metals and mechanical engineering
- Experience applying the scientific method to plan, conduct, and record experiments
- Experience with organizing, analyzing, and presenting scientific data to support conclusions and recommendations
- Experience with CAD tools (e.g., SolidWorks)
- Knowledge of at least one programming language for engineering (Python, MATLAB, Mathematica)
- Hands-on experience with additive manufacturing equipment and techniques
- Hands-on mechanical characterization experience
- Creative problem solving and strong organizational skills
- Excellent communication skills, both oral and written
- Ability to work well in a team environment
- Ability to operate independently

Preferred Qualifications:

- Experience with instrumentation and data acquisition

Physical Requirements:

- Must be able to work for extended periods while standing or sitting at a computer workstation
- Must be familiar with safe chemical handling practices and common laboratory safety procedures
- Must be sufficiently mobile to work within a laboratory environment

Special Requirements:

U.S. Citizenship and the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government security clearance

Compensation and Benefits: Pay Range:  $81,100 - $98,900

## About HRL Laboratories

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: HRL Laboratories (formerly Hughes Research Laboratories) is a private R&D lab jointly owned by Boeing and General Motors that pioneers transformative technologies in physical and information science for aerospace, automotive, and defense applications.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Limited Liability Company, LLC) — owned by The Boeing Company and General Motors
- **Headquarters**: Malibu, California, USA (with additional campuses in Calabasas and Westlake Village, CA)
- **Founded**: 1948 (as Hughes Research Laboratories); restructured as an LLC in 1997
- **Founders**: Founded as the research arm of Hughes Aircraft Company (Howard Hughes); current entity formed by Boeing and GM

## Core Business
- **Primary Industries**: Aerospace & Defense, Automotive, Advanced Materials, Microelectronics, Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Science, and Sensor Systems
- **Target Customers**: Boeing, General Motors (LLC Members), U.S. Government (DoD), and commercial customers requiring deep-tech R&D
- **Mission / Purpose**: To conduct basic and applied research that transitions into real-world applications, removing limitations and creating competitive advantage for its customers — prioritizing purpose over profit

## Products & Services
For each major offering:
- **Applied R&D Services**: Full-spectrum research from basic science through prototype development and transition to production for member companies and government clients.
- **Microfabrication & Semiconductor Fabrication**: Operates a 10,000-square-foot Class 10 cleanroom (ISO Class 4) for end-to-end production of integrated circuits, compound semiconductor devices, quantum devices, memristors, and photonic devices. DoD Trusted Foundry status.
- **Advanced Materials & Manufacturing**: Development of engineered structural and active materials, coatings, nanotechnologies, and metal additive manufacturing (3D printing of metals).
- **Artificial Intelligence & Cognitive Systems**: Neuromorphic computing, brain-machine interfaces, graph machine learning, agentic AI, and automated knowledge extraction.
- **Sensors & Electronics**: Small/conformal antennas, RF technologies, optoelectronics for microwave signal distribution, and quantum information science.
- **Vision Systems**: Infrared systems, focal plane arrays, and advanced imaging technologies.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation / Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed (private LLC)
- **Key Metric**: Total Revenue not publicly disclosed; funded by Boeing and GM as member-owned R&D entity; government and commercial contracts
- **Notable Investors / Partners**: The Boeing Company (joint owner), General Motors (joint owner), U.S. Department of Defense (DoD Trusted Foundry)
- **Growth Signals**: Active hiring across multiple advanced technology centers; 250,000 sq. ft. of lab space; 70+ years of continuous operation with a rich patent portfolio; expanding in AI, quantum, and additive manufacturing domains

## Competitive Advantages
- **Unique Ownership Structure**: A private R&D lab jointly owned by two Fortune 500 companies (Boeing and GM) that prioritizes long-term research over quarterly profit — extremely rare in corporate R&D.
- **Deep Tech Portfolio & History**: 70+ years of breakthrough innovations (e.g., first working laser, key components for LCD displays, quantum cascade lasers) with a culture of cross-disciplinary discovery.
- **DoD Trusted Foundry**: One of the few facilities in the U.S. certified to fabricate secure microelectronics for defense applications, providing a major government contract moat.
- **World-Class Facilities**: 10,000 sq. ft. Class 10 cleanroom, 250,000 sq. ft. total lab space, and a multidisciplinary staff of world-class scientists and engineers across materials science, physics, chemistry, electrical engineering, and computer science.

## Strategic Focus
- **Current Priorities**: Expanding capabilities in agentic AI and graph machine learning, metal additive manufacturing (computational materials science), quantum information science, and advanced MEMS/process integration. Growing the workforce in intelligent systems, sensors & electronics, and vision systems.
- **Direction for Growth**: Transitioning more foundational research into real-world products for Boeing, GM, and government customers; strengthening the "AI + hardware" intersection; recruiting top-tier PhD-level talent across physics, materials, and computer science.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture & Mission**: A "small company atmosphere" with the resources of a major R&D lab. Employees conduct both basic and applied research in a collaborative technical environment committed to "producing the leading R&D in the world." [hrl.com](https://hrl.com/careers)
- **Work Location**: On-site roles primarily in Malibu, CA (overlooking the Pacific Ocean) and Calabasas, CA. Some hybrid options exist (e.g., Agentic AI role listed as Hybrid in Calabasas). [hrl.com](https://hrl.com/careers) and [jobs.lever.co](https://jobs.lever.co/dodmg)
- **Benefits & Perks**:
    - **Compensation**: Competitive salary; generous 401(k) with 100% match on first 4% + age-based employer contributions. [hrl.com](https://hrl.com/careers/benefits)
    - **Time Off**: 14 paid holidays per year (including year-end break); flexible PTO (up to 15 days after 1 year, up to 25 days after 10 years); 80 hours sick time granted on hire. [hrl.com](https://hrl.com/careers/benefits)
    - **Parental Leave**: 12 weeks fully paid parental leave. [hrl.com](https://hrl.com/careers/benefits)
    - **Education**: 100% tuition reimbursement for approved programs. [hrl.com](https://hrl.com/careers/benefits)
    - **Health**: Multiple medical plans (PPO, HMO, HDHP HSA), employer-paid vision and dental, HSA contributions, family planning support.
    - **Workplace**: On-site fitness centers (Lost Hills & Westlake), Malibu dining terrace with ocean views, ridesharing incentives, employee discounts, colloquia series with noted speakers. [hrl.com](https://hrl.com/careers/benefits)
- **Engineering/Research Culture**: Multidisciplinary teams working on cutting-edge problems in AI, quantum, materials, microelectronics, and sensors. Employees are expected to publish and patent, contributing to both basic science and applied engineering. Provides "unique career growth opportunities as a member of the research community serving our LLC Members, government and commercial customers." [hrl.com](https://hrl.com/careers)

## Sources
1. [HRL Laboratories Careers](https://hrl.com/careers)
2. [HRL Laboratories About](https://www.hrl.com/about)
3. [Current Openings at HRL](https://hrl.com/careers/current-openings)
4. [HRL Benefits](https://hrl.com/careers/benefits)
5. [HRL Job Listings (Lever)](https://jobs.lever.co/dodmg)

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