How to hire materials engineers

Job description template

Copy it, fill in the brackets, and remove anything that does not fit your job. Keep only must-haves you would really turn someone away for.

[Job title] at [Company name]
[City, State] · [Full-time / Part-time] · [Pay range]

About the role
[Two or three sentences about your team, the work and why it matters.]

What you will do
• Analyze product failure data and laboratory test results to determine causes of problems and develop solutions.
• Conduct or supervise tests on raw materials or finished products to ensure their quality.
• Determine appropriate methods for fabricating and joining materials.
• Evaluate technical specifications and economic factors relating to process or product design objectives.
• Guide technical staff in developing materials for specific uses in projected products or devices.
• Plan and implement laboratory operations to develop material and fabrication procedures that meet cost, product specification, and performance standards.
• Review new product plans, and make recommendations for material selection, based on design objectives such as strength, weight, heat resistance, electrical conductivity, and cost.
• Solve problems in a number of engineering fields, such as mechanical, chemical, electrical, civil, nuclear, and aerospace.

What you bring
• [Required license, certification or years of experience, if any]
• [Education, only if you truly need it. Typical to start in this job: Bachelor's degree]
• Strong active listening, critical thinking, mathematics, reading comprehension, science and speaking skills
• Working knowledge of engineering and technology, mathematics, production and processing and physics
• [Anything else you would really turn someone away for]

Pay and benefits
[Pay range]. For reference, the U.S. median for this job is $54.26 an hour ($112,860 a year).
[Benefits, schedule and anything else candidates should know.]

How to apply
[Apply on JAI Bot. Every applicant hears back.]

Copy the template Check your finished job post

Interview questions for materials engineers

Ask every candidate the same questions, in the same order, and write down what they say. Questions about past work show what someone has actually done.

1. Tell me about a time you had to analyze product failure data and laboratory test results to determine causes of problems and develop solutions. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
2. Tell me about a time you had to conduct or supervise tests on raw materials or finished products to ensure their quality. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
3. Tell me about a time you had to determine appropriate methods for fabricating and joining materials. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
4. Tell me about a time you had to evaluate technical specifications and economic factors relating to process or product design objectives. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
5. Tell me about a time you had to understand a request or problem that was explained poorly. How did you make sure you got it right?
6. Describe a decision at work where the obvious answer was wrong. How did you work out the better choice?
7. Walk me through a calculation you do regularly at work and how you check it.
8. Why this job, and why now? What would make you stay here for the long term?

Good answers name a real situation, what the person did themselves and what happened. Avoid questions about age, family plans, religion, health, national origin or anything else unrelated to the job.

What materials engineers do

• Analyze product failure data and laboratory test results to determine causes of problems and develop solutions.
• Conduct or supervise tests on raw materials or finished products to ensure their quality.
• Determine appropriate methods for fabricating and joining materials.
• Evaluate technical specifications and economic factors relating to process or product design objectives.
• Guide technical staff in developing materials for specific uses in projected products or devices.
• Plan and implement laboratory operations to develop material and fabrication procedures that meet cost, product specification, and performance standards.
• Review new product plans, and make recommendations for material selection, based on design objectives such as strength, weight, heat resistance, electrical conductivity, and cost.
• Solve problems in a number of engineering fields, such as mechanical, chemical, electrical, civil, nuclear, and aerospace.

Skills that matter most

Active ListeningCritical ThinkingMathematicsReading ComprehensionScienceSpeakingEngineering and TechnologyMathematicsProduction and ProcessingPhysics

Education, experience and outlook for materials engineers

• Typical education to start: Bachelor's degree (BLS)
• Job outlook: +7.5% over ten years, faster than average · about 1,300 openings a year (BLS)

What to pay materials engineers

Pay depends a lot on where the job is. Highest and lowest median yearly pay by state:

See materials engineers pay in every state

Related hiring guides

• Aerospace Engineers
• Agricultural Engineers
• Bioengineers and Biomedical Engineers
• Chemical Engineers
• Civil Engineers
• Computer Hardware Engineers
• Electrical Engineers
• Electronics Engineers, Except Computer
• Environmental Engineers
• Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors

Job duties and skills: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license; O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. JAI Bot has modified this information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025. Interview questions and the job description template: JAI Bot, based on the duties and skills above.