Lead Additive Manufacturing Applications Development Engineer
About the role
Hadrian - Manufacturing the Future Hadrian is building autonomous factories that help aerospace and defense companies manufacture rockets, satellites, jets, and ships up to 10x faster and up to 2x cheaper. By combining advanced software, robotics, and full-stack manufacturing, we are reinventing how America produces its most critical parts. We’re accelerating our mission with the launch of Factory 3 in Mesa, Arizona, a 290,000-square-foot facility creating 350 new jobs. We are expanding rapidly to support thousands of future hires, launching Hadrian Maritime to expand into naval production, and introducing a Factory-as-a-Service model that delivers complete systems instead of individual parts. Hadrian is backed by leading investors including T. Rowe Price, Lux Capital, Founders Fund, and Andreessen Horowitz, our fast-growing team is united around reindustrializing American manufacturing for the 21st century and beyond.
The Role: We are seeking a highly skilled Applications Engineer with deep expertise in additive manufacturing to join our growing team. In this customer-facing role, you will serve as a technical authority for our LPBF solutions — guiding customers through design, process development, and workflow automation while managing programs independently from early engagement through qualification and production. Beyond customer work, you will play a key internal role in building and refining automation tools that improve the efficiency, consistency, and scalability of our additive manufacturing workflows.. What You’ll Do: Serve as the primary technical point of contact for customers; capturing
requirements, assessing feasibility, and translating program needs into actionable AM manufacturing plans. Lead DfAM efforts including build orientation, support strategy, topology optimization, lattice design, distortion risk, and post-processing-aware design decisions. Perform AM CAM work: build file development, support generation, nesting, process parameter selection, and print plan optimization for PBF-LB systems. Design and develop internal automation tools that streamline DfAM and CAM workflows; reducing manual effort, enforcing best practices, and scaling repeatability across programs; additionally deploy these tools in direct support of customer programs. Apply AM simulation tools; thermal, distortion, residual stress, and structural validation; to inform design decisions and de-risk builds. Support process development including parameter selection, DOE, process control, and PBF-LB technology maturation with internal teams. Coordinate across post-processing (heat treat, HIP, machining, support removal, finishing) to ensure end-to-end manufacturability. Assist with qualification planning, validation builds, acceptance criteria, and data packages for customer and aerospace program release. Manage assigned projects independently; defining scope, setting milestones, and delivering results with minimal oversight. Collaborate cross-functionally with sales, engineering, quality, and operations to translate customer