Location: Belmont, North Carolina, Charlotte Area
Employment Type: Full-Time
Experience Level: Entry Level
Work Arrangement: On-Site
About LTS Research Laboratories
LTS Research Laboratories, Inc. is a materials technology company specializing in high-purity materials, advanced inorganic materials, rare-earth materials, sputtering targets, evaporation materials, and custom materials for research and industrial applications.
We are seeking an Entry-Level Materials Engineer who is interested in hands-on research, materials processing, chemical development, powder metallurgy, and advanced materials characterization.
This is a laboratory and manufacturing-focused position. The successful candidate will work directly with new materials, experimental processes, analytical instruments, and production equipment rather than working exclusively at a desk.
Position Summary
The Materials Engineer will support research and development of new chemical compounds and advanced materials and assist in developing processes to convert raw materials and powders into finished products.
The position will involve materials including metals, alloys, ceramics, inorganic compounds, rare-earth compounds, organometallic materials, and selected specialty chemicals.
A major focus of the position will be developing and optimizing processes for manufacturing sputtering targets, pellets, powders, granules, and other advanced material forms.
Key Responsibilities
- Conduct R&D on new inorganic, rare-earth, organometallic, and specialty chemical materials.
- Develop and optimize synthesis, purification, heat-treatment, and materials-processing procedures.
- Develop processes for manufacturing sputtering targets from powders, including powder preparation, blending, particle-size control, pressing, sintering, heat treatment, density evaluation, grinding, and finishing.
- Operate laboratory and production-scale powder presses and assist with development of pressing parameters for pellets and sputtering targets.
- Investigate the relationship between powder characteristics, pressing conditions, sintering parameters, density, microstructure, and final material performance.
- Prepare experimental batches and scale successful laboratory processes toward production.
- Characterize raw materials, intermediate materials, and finished products using techniques including:
- X-Ray Diffraction (XRD)
- Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)
- Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS)
- Particle Size Distribution (PSD)
- ICP-MS
- Other chemical and materials characterization techniques as required
- Interpret analytical results and determine whether materials meet purity, phase, particle-size, density, and compositional requirements.
- Investigate material failures, contamination, oxidation, phase changes, processing problems, and other technical issues.
- Work with high-temperature furnaces, vacuum equipment, powder-processing equipment, presses, laboratory instruments, and related manufacturing equipment.
- Handle air-sensitive, moisture-sensitive, hygroscopic, reactive, and high-purity materials using appropriate laboratory procedures and inert-atmosphere techniques when required.
- Maintain accurate laboratory notebooks, experimental records, processing parameters, and analytical data.
- Prepare technical reports, specifications, test reports, Certificates of Analysis, and internal process documentation.
- Develop and improve standard operating procedures for laboratory and manufacturing processes.
- Support incoming raw-material qualification and finished-product quality control.
- Assist with technical evaluation of customer specifications and custom material requirements.
- Work closely with production, quality, technical sales, and management to transition successful R&D projects into repeatable manufacturing processes.
- Maintain laboratory safety, cleanliness, chemical labeling, proper material storage, and compliance with established safety procedures.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Materials Science and Engineering, Materials Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Ceramic Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering, or a closely related technical field.
- Strong fundamental understanding of materials science, chemistry, and materials characterization.
- Interest in hands-on laboratory, R&D, and manufacturing work.
- Ability to analyze experimental data and troubleshoot technical problems.
- Strong attention to detail and ability to maintain accurate technical documentation.
- Ability to safely work with chemicals, powders, laboratory equipment, furnaces, vacuum systems, and manufacturing equipment.
- Basic computer skills including Microsoft Excel, Word, and technical data analysis.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Preferred Qualifications
Experience through university laboratories, internships, research projects, or previous employment in any of the following areas is desirable:
- Powder metallurgy
- Ceramic processing
- Sputtering targets
- Thin-film materials
- Powder pressing and pelletization
- Sintering
- High-temperature furnaces
- Vacuum processing
- Glovebox or inert-atmosphere processing
- XRD
- SEM/EDS
- Particle-size analysis
- ICP-MS or other elemental-analysis techniques
- Rare-earth materials
- High-purity metals and compounds
- Materials synthesis
- Materials failure analysis
- Experimental and statistical data analysis
Compensation & Benefits
LTS Research Laboratories offers a competitive compensation and benefits package for full-time employees, including:
- Competitive salary
- 401(k) retirement plan
- Health insurance benefits
- Paid time off (PTO)
- Paid vacation
- Paid sick leave
- Paid company holidays
- Professional development and hands-on technical training
- Opportunities for career growth and advancement
- Exposure to advanced materials, analytical technologies, and manufacturing processes
- Opportunity to work directly on R&D projects from laboratory development through production
Work Authorization
Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States.
U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents are encouraged to apply.
LTS Research Laboratories is not offering new visa sponsorship for this position.
Qualified candidates who are currently in valid H-1B status may be considered for H-1B employer transfer support, subject to eligibility and applicable immigration requirements.
Candidates with an existing approved I-140 and valid U.S. work authorization may also be considered based on their individual immigration and employment authorization status.
Candidates should clearly identify their current U.S. work authorization status during the application process.
Who We Are Looking For
We are looking for someone who is curious about how materials are made and why they behave the way they do.
The ideal candidate enjoys solving practical technical problems, working directly with laboratory equipment, designing experiments, analyzing results, and developing a process from an initial laboratory experiment into a reproducible product.
This position is particularly well suited for a recent graduate who wants broad exposure to materials R&D, analytical characterization, powder processing, sputtering-target manufacturing, high-purity chemicals, rare-earth materials, and advanced materials production rather than working in only one narrow area of materials engineering.
Work Location
This is a full-time, on-site laboratory and manufacturing position in Belmont, North Carolina, in the Charlotte metropolitan area.
Local candidates in the Belmont, Charlotte, Gastonia, and surrounding areas are strongly encouraged to apply.
Recent graduates who are currently authorized to work in the United States are encouraged to apply.
ABOUT LTS RESEARCH LABS
Established in 1989 and based in New York, LTS has been pushing boundaries in the development and implementation of high-purity optical coating materials since its inception.
We produce high purity and high performance materials for the optics and fiberoptics, electronics, automotive, aerospace, medical, defense, crystal growth, and fuel cell industries, and are constantly developing new products and applications for our clients. We pride ourselves on our superb materials quality: whether it’s a standard formulation or researching and developing new chemicals and compounds, we work to provide you with products unparalleled in their respective industries.
Our research and development team comprises experts in chemistry, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, materials science, vacuum engineering, and high-caliber machining. Our production process is vertically integrated from raw materials procurement to the final finishing process, giving us precise control in creating materials to exact specifications.
TEAM
LTS Research Labs is comprised of four groups of personnel and produces its chemicals in three different facilities worldwide.
Our research scientists, engineers, and chemists are dedicated to the production of high purity compounds. They are continuously developing new materials with input from our customers and ensure that current materials - general chemicals, electronics and optics materials, and military chemicals - are produced to the highest standards.
Our team of shipping and compliance staff ensure our customers are satisfied. They handle shipments across the globe, interface with the customer, and conduct quality control measurements of the products.
We also have chemists and engineers engaged in an environmental analysis laboratory with wet chemistry and analytical materials characterization services such as GDMS, ICP, XRD.
Finally, the sputtering group consists of mechanical, electrical, thin film, and production engineers who design and build custom deposition systems, closely interpreting and following customer's specifications.