Materials Engineer - Chemist - Castelion Corporation | Career Page Materials Engineer - Chemist Torrance, California, United States Apply for Position Or refer someone Job Openings Materials Engineer - Chemist About the job Materials Engineer - Chemist Why Castelion, Why Now Castelion is moving incredibly fast to develop and deliver advanced defense systems at a time when execution matters more than ever. We believe focus and technical excellence are decisive advantages - and we are building a team that can deliver real capability, not just concepts. This is a rare opportunity to join at an early stage, where your work will directly shape critical systems, influence major technical decisions, and have immediate, real-world impact. Materials Engineer - Chemist Castelion is seeking a highly motivated chemist to support development and scale-up of a proprietary wet chemistry process that is central to production of next-generation aerospace materials. This role is ideal for an individual interested in reaction development, process optimization, and translating laboratory-scale chemistry into robust manufacturing processes.
The role combines hands-on laboratory chemistry with analytical process development
responsibilities. The chemist will execute and optimize multi-step chemical syntheses, characterize reaction products, develop standardized operating procedures, and support the transition of the process from laboratory-scale production to increasingly larger manufacturing systems.
Responsibilities Execute and monitor multi-step wet chemistry synthesis processes to support development and production activities. Design and perform experiments to optimize reaction conditions, yields, purity, and process repeatability using structured experimental methodologies. Characterize reaction intermediates and final products using standard analytical laboratory techniques. Collect, organize, and analyze process and analytical data to support process optimization and manufacturing readiness. Develop and maintain process documentation, work instructions, batch records, and standardized operating procedures. Troubleshoot reaction, purification, and process issues in a fast-paced development environment. Support scale-up activities by evaluating reaction performance across increasing batch sizes and implementing process improvements to enable future production capacity. Basic
Qualifications Bachelor's or Master's degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Polymer Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, or a related field. 1+ years of wet chemistry synthesis experience Preferred Skills and Experience Experience with wet chemistry processing, hazardous chemical handling, and laboratory-scale synthesis. Familiarity with standard analytical characterization techniques (e.g., GC, GC-MS FTIR, NMR, Chromatography, DSC, TGA, or equivalent). Strong experimental design, data analysis, and technical documentation skills. Ability to work independently in a hands-on laboratory environment.
Benefits And
Perks Employee Equity: Meaningful equity for all full-time employees - share value has increased 150x in three years Personal Time Off: Four (4) weeks of paid time off to unplug, reset, and come back sharp—velocity matters, burnout doesn't Company Paid Holidays: Ten (10) company paid holidays Medical: We offer plans at 100% employee covered and 80% of dependent coverage Dental & Vision: We cover 90% employees and 80% for dependents to ensure you and your family have access to quality preventive and ongoing care FSA/HSA: To support long-term health and financial resilience, we offer FSA and HSA options that allow employees to set aside pre-tax dollars for eligible medical and dependent care expenses Retirement: 401k plan offered to support long term financial growth along side high-impact, high-velocity work Paid Parental Leave: We support growing families with meaningful time to bond and recover. Birthing parents are eligible for up to 10 weeks of paid leave, while non-birthing parents may take up to 4 weeks of paid leave. This time can be used for pre-natal care, pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical needs—ensuring every parent has the support they need during this important life moment.8-weeks of paid parental leave for all parents. Additional paid pregnancy leave for CA employees Meals & Catering: Frequently catered lunches and team meals, plus company-covered meals when extra time or effort is required Snacks & Beverages: Fully stocked kitchen with unlimited snacks and drinks to keep you fueled throughout the day Performance & Fitness: $100 monthly fitness stipend to support peak performance and health, both inside and outside of work EV Charging: Onsite electric vehicle charging available for employees Physical Demands Must be willing to work extended hours and/or weekends as needed Must be able to travel up to 30% Must be able to lift more than 50lbs ITAR
Requirements To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. This position may require access to classified information or restricted U.S. Government sites, systems, or information, as determined by the Company and/or applicable U.S. Government
requirements. If the position is so designated, your employment in
the role may be contingent upon your ability to obtain and maintain the required U.S. Government security clearance or other government authorization, and to satisfy any citizenship or other eligibility
requirements imposed by applicable law, regulation, executive order, or government contract
requirements. You will be notified if and when such
requirements apply. Failure to obtain or maintain any required clearance or authorization may result in reassignment, leave, or separation from employment, consistent with business needs and applicable law. Affirmative Action/EEO Statement Employment with Castelion is governed on the basis of competence and
qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status. Other Duties Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or
responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties,
responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice. Apply for Position Or refer someone Share Facebook Line LinkedIn X (Formerly Twitter) Whatsapp Email Powered by Manatal
About Castelion
Castelion is a modern defense production company building long-range hypersonic strike systems to address a critical national security gap. Founded in 2021, Castelion was created in response to the recognized need for the United States to rapidly develop hypersonic capabilities to remain competitive with near-peer adversaries and deter future conflicts.
The company operates under the philosophy of "Peace through Deterrence" — building the weapons systems that ensure conflicts never need to happen. Castelion is one of the few companies in the hypersonics space that has moved beyond concepts to actual production deliverables, with government contracts across multiple branches of the military and a $23M+ Navy order for 50 units in calendar year 2027.
Backed by over $469M in funding from top-tier investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and General Catalyst, Castelion is scaling rapidly. The company is building what it anticipates will become the preeminent hypersonics campus in the country — including a $150M, 1,000-acre solid rocket motor manufacturing facility in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, alongside its headquarters in Torrance, California.
Castelion's culture is defined by technical excellence, ownership, and velocity. Engineers own meaningful subsystems on the vehicle and are responsible for driving their success. The company follows a responsible engineering model inspired by SpaceX, where individuals choose the highest-value work and are empowered to cultivate resources and partnerships to deliver results. The engineering bar is exceptionally high — attracting elite talent who want to be surrounded by other elite talent.
