Evaluate materials and develop machinery and processes to manufacture materials for use in products that must meet specialized design and performance specifications. Develop new uses for known materials. Includes those working with composite materials or specializing in one type of material, such as graphite, metal and metal alloys, ceramics and glass, plastics and polymers, and naturally occurring materials.

Other names for Materials Engineers: Automation Engineer, Automotive Sheet Metal Engineer, Ceramic Design Engineer, Ceramic Engineer, Ceramic Research Engineer, Ceramics Test Engineer, Corrosion Engineer, Design Engineer, Extractive Metallurgist, Failure Analysis Technician, Foundry Metallurgist, Foundry Process Engineer, Manufacturing Engineer, Material Analyst, Materials and Processes Manager, Materials Branch Chief, Materials Development Engineer, Materials Engineer, Materials Engineering Superintendent, Materials Research Engineer, Materials Specialist, Metallographer, Metallurgical Engineer, Metallurgical Specialist, Metallurgist, Nanotechnologist, Physical Metallurgist, Plating Engineer, Process Engineer, Refining Engineer, Research Assistant, Research Engineer, Smelting Engineer, Stress Engineer, Supplier Quality Engineer (SQE), Test Engineer, Testing Engineer, Validation Engineer, Validation Specialist, Welding Engineer,

• Analyze product failure data and laboratory test results in order to determine causes of problems and develop solutions.
• Monitor material performance and evaluate material deterioration.
• Supervise the work of technologists, technicians and other engineers and scientists.
• Design and direct the testing and/or control of processing procedures.
• Evaluate technical specifications and economic factors relating to process or product design objectives.
• Conduct or supervise tests on raw materials or finished products in order to ensure their quality.
• Perform managerial functions such as preparing proposals and budgets, analyzing labor costs, and writing reports.
• Solve problems in a number of engineering fields, such as mechanical, chemical, electrical, civil, nuclear and aerospace.
• Plan and evaluate new projects, consulting with other engineers and corporate executives as necessary.
• Review new product plans and make recommendations for material selection based on design objectives, such as strength, weight, heat resistance, electrical conductivity, and cost.
• Design processing plants and equipment.
• Modify properties of metal alloys, using thermal and mechanical treatments.
• Guide technical staff engaged in developing materials for specific uses in projected products or devices.
• Plan and implement laboratory operations for the purpose of developing material and fabrication procedures that meet cost, product specification, and performance standards.
• Determine appropriate methods for fabricating and joining materials.
• Conduct training sessions on new material products, applications, or manufacturing methods for customers and their employees.
• Supervise production and testing processes in industrial settings such as metal refining facilities, smelting or foundry operations, or non-metallic materials production operations.
• Write for technical magazines, journals, and trade association publications.
• Replicate the characteristics of materials and their components with computers.
• Teach in colleges and universities.

• Safety glasses
• Protective gloves
• Laboratory crushers or pulverizers
• Pneumatic sanding machines
• Scanning electron microscopes
• Compression testers
• Fatigue testers
• Laboratory blenders or emulsifiers
• Solar lamps
• Lasers
• Induction dryers
• Sonometers
• Laboratory balances
• Colorimeters
• Spectrometers
• Spectrophotometers
• Concrete or cement testing instruments
• Steam autoclaves or sterilizers
• Stereo or dissecting light microscopes
• Strain gauges
• Orbital shaking water baths
• Tension testers
• Tensiometers
• Thermal differential analyzers
• Calorimeters
• Tube furnaces
• Turbidimeters
• Twin screw extruder
• Immersion circulators
• Homogenizers
• Homogenizers
• Ultrasonic examination equipment
• Infrared dryers
• Optical vacuum coating equipment
• Laboratory evaporators
• Vacuum ovens
• Vibration testers
• Viscosimeters
• Laboratory burets
• Power saws
• Flow transmitters
• Spectrofluorimeters or fluorimeters
• Spectrometers
• Abrasion testers
• Ageing ovens
• Accelerometers
• Impedance meters
• Metal testing instruments
• Calorimeters
• Ammeters
• Analytical balances
• Spectrophotometers
• Scanning probe microscopes
• Grinding or polishing machines
• Laboratory mills
• Twin screw extruder
• Power saws
• Benchtop centrifuges
• Binocular light compound microscopes
• Calorimeters
• Concrete mixers or plants
• Impact testers
• Colorimeters
• Compression testers
• Lathes
• Milling machines
• Concrete or cement testing instruments
• Coordinate measuring machines CMM
• Laboratory mixers
• Graphic recorders
• Portable data input terminals
• Ion exchange apparatus
• Calorimeters
• Thermal differential analyzers
• Diffractometers
• Digital cameras
• Oscilloscopes
• Impact testers
• Drying cabinets or ovens
• Hardness testers
• Electrometers
• Electron microscopes
• Electronic toploading balances
• Laboratory separators
• Spectrometers
• Semiconductor process systems
• Extensometers
• Twin screw extruder
• Thickness measuring devices
• Filtering machinery
• Photometers
• Bubble columns
• Infrared spectrometers
• Concrete or cement testing instruments
• Wear testers
• Fume hoods or cupboards
• Gas chromatographs
• Leak testing equipment
• Electromagnetic field meters
• Chromatographic scanners
• Programmable tube furnaces
• Gyratory crushers
• Hardness testers
• Heated walk in environmental or growth chambers
• High pressure liquid chromatograph chromatography
• Tension testers
• Laboratory separators
• Tension testers
• Positioning jig
• Laboratory blenders or emulsifiers
• Hydraulic press frames
• Impact testers
• Laboratory box furnaces
• Infrared imagers
• Injection molding machines
• Laboratory separators
• Laboratory mills
• Jaw crushers
• Vibratory plates
• Laboratory microwave ovens
• Laboratory blenders or emulsifiers
• Isolation glove boxes
• Laboratory crushers or pulverizers
• Laboratory crushers or pulverizers
• Test sieves
• Laboratory vacuum pumps
• Laminators
• Grinders
• Flowmeters
• Lathes
• Linear position sensors
• Water conditioners
• Load frame
• Laboratory separators
• Analytical balances
• Power saws
• Mass spectrometers
• Orbital shakers
• Crucible furnaces
• Semiconductor process systems
• Photo attachments for microscopes
• Steam autoclaves or sterilizers
• High vacuum combustion apparatus
• Tube furnaces
• Laboratory vacuum pumps
• Laboratory box furnaces
• Infrared spectrometers
• Binocular light compound microscopes
• Flow transmitters
• Optical diffraction apparatus
• Permeability testing apparatus
• Personal computers
• pH meters
• High vacuum combustion apparatus
• Polarizing microscopes
• Grinding or polishing machines
• Porosimeters
• Pycnometers
• Reflectometers
• Laboratory mills
• Roll crushers
• High vacuum combustion apparatus

Office suite software

Graphics or photo imaging software

Word processing software

Charting software

Presentation software

Spreadsheet software

Data base user interface and query software

Development environment software

Object or component oriented development software

Computer aided design CAD software

Analytical or scientific software

Computer aided manufacturing CAM software

Internet browser software

Electronic mail software