Materials Research Engineer

What Does a Professional in this Career Do?

A Materials Research Engineer researches materials and works to discover materials that may be used in new and emerging technologies and support innovation. Identifies new or different combinations of materials to improve product performance and durability.

Job Outlook

There were 16 Materials Research Engineer job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 531 in the United States.

In combination with other careers in the Materials Engineer industry, which includes the Materials Research Engineer career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:

Salary

Many new Materials Research Engineer jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.

National

The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $119,123.

State

The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $119,123.

Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Materials Research Engineer postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $97,822.

Education and Experience

Posted Materials Research Engineer jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.

Education Level	Percentage
Associate's Degree	0%
Bachelor's Degree	49.34%
Master's Degree	45.01%
Doctoral Degree	59.51%
Other	2.45%

Posted Materials Research Engineer jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.

Years of Experience	Percentage
0 to 2 years	28.21%
3 to 5 years	38.24%
6 to 8 years	15.05%
9+ years	18.5%

Skills

Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Materials Research Engineer positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.

Baseline Skills

A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.

Research (61.39%)
Communication (34.09%)
Innovation (31.45%)
Presentations (27.5%)
Writing (25.61%)
Problem Solving (19.59%)
Leadership (18.27%)
Detail Oriented (16.95%)
Self-Motivation (15.63%)
Organizational Skills (13.56%)

Defining Skills

A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.

Materials Science (85.91%)
Chemistry (51.08%)
Chemical Engineering (37.96%)
Physics (23.68%)
Project Management (13.31%)

Necessary Skills

A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.

Semiconductors (7.24%)
Laboratory Experience (5.09%)
Ultraviolet-Visible Spectroscopy (UV/VIS) (3.72%)
Raman Spectroscopy (9.59%)
Supply Chain (10.96%)
Materials Engineering (9.78%)
Collaborative Research (1.57%)
Physical Science (0.98%)
Analytical Techniques (9%)
Metallurgy (5.28%)
Automation (2.35%)
Atomic Force Microscopy (4.11%)
Experimental Design (10.37%)
Analytical Chemistry (9%)
Composite Materials (9.98%)
Optics (7.24%)
Additive Manufacturing (3D Printing) (10.57%)
Microscopy (8.02%)
Ceramic Materials (10.18%)
Python (Programming Language) (6.46%)
Metal Coating (1.76%)
Fabrication (2.94%)
Scale (Map) (8.41%)
Experimental Data (4.11%)
Experimentation (17.42%)
Commercialization (8.02%)
Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (10.96%)
Data Analysis (22.31%)
Material Characterization (10.76%)
Machine Learning (6.85%)
Spectroscopy (12.92%)
Mechanical Engineering (11.55%)
Procurement (9.98%)
Manufacturing Processes (9.2%)
Research Experiences (3.72%)
New Product Development (20.35%)
Scanning Electron Microscopy (5.87%)
Pharmaceuticals (5.28%)
Search Engine Marketing (15.66%)
Thermal Analysis (2.35%)
Technical Writing (6.26%)
Polymer Chemistry (20.35%)
Material Selection (7.05%)
Research And Development (12.52%)
X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (6.46%)
Thermal Management (7.24%)

Distinguishing Skills

A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.

Metalorganic Vapour Phase Epitaxy (0.39%)

Alternative Job Titles

Sometimes employers post jobs with Materials Research Engineer skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:

Materials Scientist
Scientist
Principal Scientist
Polymer Scientist
Associate Scientist
Materials Science Intern
Materials Researcher
Materials Consultant
Lead Scientist

Similar Occupations

If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.

Common Employers

Here are the employers that have posted the most Materials Research Engineer jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.

United States

Bristol-Myers Squibb (22)
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (17)
Eurofins (10)
Kimberly-Clark (10)
Sandia Corporation (9)
Meta (9)
Battelle (7)
Pennsylvania State University (7)
Ramboll (7)
Formlabs (7)

North Carolina

Schneider Electric (2)
Amerit Consulting (2)
Rimkus Consulting Group (2)
Albemarle (2)
BD (2)
Actalent (1)
A-Line (1)
Integrated Resources (1)
Radiant Systems (1)

NC State Programs Relevant to this Career

If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!

Textiles Master's Degrees

All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.

Engineering