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Graduate Materials Engineer Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

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Graduate Materials Engineer information

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$40K

$91.4K

$116.9K

How much do graduate materials engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 11, 2026, the average yearly pay for graduate materials engineer in California is $91,426.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $82,900.00 and $101,200.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive in the graduate materials engineer position, and why are they important?

A Graduate Materials Engineer typically needs a degree in materials science, engineering, or a related discipline, coupled with strong analytical, problem-solving, and laboratory skills. Familiarity with characterization tools such as scanning electron microscopes (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and CAD software is highly advantageous. Excellent communication, teamwork, and project management skills help graduates thrive in multidisciplinary engineering environments. These combined skills are critical to effectively investigate and improve material properties, contribute to innovative projects, and support organizational goals.

What can I do with a master's in graduate materials engineering?

A master's in materials engineering prepares graduates for roles such as materials engineer, research scientist, or quality control specialist in industries like aerospace, automotive, or manufacturing. It provides skills in materials characterization, testing, and analysis, often requiring knowledge of tools like CAD software and laboratory techniques. Career advancement may involve obtaining professional certifications or pursuing further research or management positions.

Are graduate materials engineers in high demand?

Graduate materials engineers are in moderate demand, especially in industries such as aerospace, automotive, and manufacturing that require expertise in materials selection, testing, and analysis. Employment opportunities often depend on industry growth, technological advancements, and the engineer's skills in CAD, materials testing, and certifications like ASM or NACE.

Is a master's in materials engineering worth it?

A master's in materials engineering can enhance a graduate materials engineer's technical knowledge, research skills, and competitiveness for advanced roles or specialized positions. It may also lead to higher salaries and opportunities in research, development, or management, but the value depends on career goals and industry demand.

What is a graduate materials engineer?

A Graduate Materials Engineer is an entry-level role where you apply your knowledge of materials science to develop, test, and improve materials used in various industries. You may work with metals, polymers, ceramics, or composites to enhance product performance and durability. Typical responsibilities include conducting research, analyzing material properties, assisting in manufacturing processes, and ensuring quality control. This role provides hands-on experience and technical training, helping you develop expertise in material selection and failure analysis. It often serves as a foundation for career growth in engineering, research, or product development.

What are the typical daily responsibilities of a graduate materials engineer?

As a Graduate Materials Engineer, you can expect to spend your days conducting laboratory tests, analyzing material performance, preparing reports, and assisting with research and development projects. You will often collaborate with senior engineers, production teams, and quality control staff to troubleshoot issues or optimize materials for specific applications. Your role may also involve reviewing technical documentation, maintaining testing equipment, and participating in team meetings to discuss project progress. This hands-on, collaborative environment provides valuable experience and fosters growth in both technical and professional skills.

What are popular job titles related to Graduate Materials Engineer jobs in California? For Graduate Materials Engineer jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Graduate Materials Engineer jobs in California look for? The top searched job categories for Graduate Materials Engineer jobs in California are:
Infographic showing various Graduate Materials Engineer job openings in California as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 81% Full Time, 13% Part Time, 2% Temporary, 2% Contract, and 1% Nights. Highlights an 92% Physical, 3% Hybrid, and 5% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $91,426 per year, or $44 per hour.

Senior Analytics Engineer

Redwood Materials

San Francisco, CA • On-site

Full-time

Posted 25 days ago


Redwood Materials rating

7.6

Company rating: 7.6 out of 10

Based on 8 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

23rd of 90 rated recycling and waste


Job description

About Redwood Materials

Redwood Materials is building a circular supply chain for batteries. Founded in 2017, we recover, reuse, and recycle end-of-life batteries and manufacturing scrap, and use the recovered materials to produce battery components domestically and power energy storage installations. Our goal is to reduce the cost and environmental footprint of batteries by keeping critical minerals in circulation.

About the Role

Our central data and analytics team builds and operates the data pipelines that power reporting, analytics, and automation across Redwood. This is a hands-on engineering role: the majority of our work is code-based data pipelining and automated data analyses. You will spend most of your time on code-based analysis and building and maintaining production pipelines rather than working in a BI tool.

You will work directly with stakeholders in finance, supply chain, and operations to understand what they need, scope technical solutions, and deliver reliable, automated data products. We are looking for someone who can translate a business conversation into a well-engineered pipeline and stand behind it in production.

What You'll Do

  • Build, deploy, and maintain production-grade automated data pipelines using Python and SQL.
  • Perform one-off and automated data-driven analyses using financial and supply chain models and calculations.
  • Scope technical pipeline and automation solutions based on conversations with users and an understanding of the underlying business value drivers.
  • Develop and orchestrate pipelines using tools such as Dagster or Airflow, and manage transformations with dbt.
  • Apply CI/CD and sound software engineering practices (version control, testing, code review) to data workflows.
  • Deploy and run pipelines on cloud infrastructure, and help maintain the reliability of what we ship.
  • Partner with finance, supply chain, and operations stakeholders to deliver the metrics, datasets, and automations they rely on.
  • Own delivery of your work end to end, including scoping, prioritization, and follow-through.

What We're Looking For

  • 3+ years building, deploying, and maintaining production data pipelines.
  • Minimum bachelor's degree in quantitative or technical field such as Data Engineering, Computer Science, Applied Math, etc. Graduate degree preferred.
  • Domain expertise in financial metrics or in supply chain and operations.
  • Strong Python and SQL.
  • Experience with orchestration tools such as Dagster or Airflow, and with dbt.
  • Working knowledge of cloud infrastructure.
  • Familiarity with CI/CD and good coding practices.
  • Ability to scope technical data pipeline solutions and automations from stakeholder conversations and business context.

Nice to Have

  • Experience with AWS.
  • Domain expertise across both financial metrics and supply chain/operations.
  • Project management skills.
  • Experience with Starburst and OpenMetadata.

What Redwood Materials employees say

Pay

Hours and flexibility

Workplace

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