Advanced Process Engineer (Metal AM)
Confirmed on the employer's own hiring board on Oct 18, 2026. First seen by Alion on Sep 9, 2026. Boom Supersonic scores B on the Alion truth index.
Boom is building Superpower, a first-of-its-kind industrial gas turbine for behind-the-grid energy generation, and Symphony, the engine that will return supersonic flight to passengers. Both run on high-temperature nickel superalloys, in parts that are already designed. Our job is making sure those parts exist on schedule - and additive manufacturing, running in parallel with castings, is how we guarantee it. We are standing up the metal AM line right now - machines, parameters, applications, and the quality systems to run it reliably. This role is the process engineer at the center of it.
The LPBF problems nobody else will hand you
At an established AM shop, a process engineer runs existing parameter sets on certified machine platforms. The alloys are qualified, the windows are defined, and the job is yield and cycle time. The interesting decisions were made before you arrived.
This is not that job.
Boom needs to print high gamma prime nickel superalloys - the crack-prone, heat-treat-sensitive alloys that break every standard LPBF approach - on extreme-preheat machines the industry is still figuring out, with build-preparation software that gives us control most shops never touch. The parts are designed and the requirements are set; the process to print them doesn't exist. We need the engineer who will design the DOEs, build the parameter sets from scratch, own the application development for real engine parts, and write the process the team runs in production. The supply chain can't do this for us. That's why this role exists.
What you'll do
- Design and execute DOEs for hard-to-print metal alloys on production LPBF machines - and document what you learn
- Develop process parameters from scratch for extreme-preheat platforms printing crack-prone superalloys
- Own part-specific application development: build orientation, support strategy, distortion compensation, depowdering, heat treat and HIP specification, machining interfaces, and inspection plans
- Automate the work: programmatic DOE generation and build prep to minimize manual work and set up files in a fraction of the normal time
- Write the documentation that carries the process from R&D to production: procedures, work instructions, build records, powder reuse tracking, traceability
- Help scope, procure, install, and commission equipment - then use it and train others on it
- Work shoulder-to-shoulder with technicians and M&P engineers - everyone in this lab builds, documents, and troubleshoots
This job is demanding
The manufacturing process you need won't exist yet - you'll develop it. Many of these alloys are notoriously difficult to print and the machines we're bringing in are at the frontier of what the industry has qualified. The parts you print will run in an engine, which means your process rigor, approach to quality, and documentation discipline have to be absolute. If a result is uncertain, we need to know that more than we need it to look ready.
You probably have
- A Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in engineering with a focus on materials, manufacturing, or additive manufacturing
- 5+ years of experience in LPBF process and/or applications development on real programs, with real customers and real consequences (we're hiring across a range of levels - exceptional depth can substitute for years)
- Hands-on LPBF experience: you have personally loaded powder, set up builds, monitored them, and debugged failure modes - not just prepared files
- Process development ownership: parameters you developed, DOEs you designed, failure modes you diagnosed and closed
- Working knowledge of build-prep software, such as: Dyndrite, Magics, 3DXpert, EOSPrint, Netfabb, or similar
- Programming experience - Python preferred - and the instinct to automate anything you've done twice
- Documentation and traceability habits that would survive a quality audit
It would be great if you have
- Experience with high-temperature, crack-prone nickel superalloys - high gamma prime alloys
- Experience on high-preheat LPBF platforms or with reactive metal alloys
- Materials evaluation experience: metallography, SEM, tensile/fatigue/creep testing, fractography, powder characterization
- Exposure to qualification programs: allowables thinking, MMPDS/CMH-17 concepts, statistical treatment of material data
- Experience carrying a process from R&D into production in a regulated environment (AS9100 or similar)
- Startup or prototype-pace experience - comfort in a lab where the process doesn't exist yet and priorities shift fast
Why Boom
Superpower is the first industrial turbine purpose-built for AI data center loads, targeting a market growing faster than the grid can serve it - and its core is shared with Symphony, the engine that brings back supersonic passenger flight. The AM capability you build here determines whether the hardest parts in the engine arrive on schedule - parts nobody else knows how to print. The machines are the most advanced in the world, the alloys are the hardest in the industry, and the parts go into real engines. There is no equivalent seat anywhere.
If building the metal AM process for the hardest alloys in the industry - on engines that matter - sounds like the role you've been looking for, apply.
What is it REALLY like to work at Boom?Find out here.
Compensation
- P3 Level - Typically 5 - 10 years of experience - Base salary range: $145,000 - $184,000
- P4 Level - Typically 10 - 15 years of experience - Base salary range: $162,000 - $205,000
- P5 Level -Typically 15 + years of experience -Base salary range: $178,500 - $225,000
Actual salaries will vary based on factors including but not limited to location, experience, and performance. The range listed is just one component of Boom’s total rewards package for employees. Other rewards may include long-term incentives/equity, a flexible PTO policy, and many other progressive benefits.
There is no set deadline to apply for this job opportunity. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the search is no longer actives
ITAR Requirement
To conform to U.S. Government aerospace technology export regulations (ITAR and EAR), applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about ITAR here.
Boom is an equal opportunity employer, including for individuals with disabilities and protected veterans. We are building a culture of merit and excellence.