JobFrame · MATERI.MATERIAL348F.M4
Materials & Plastics Engineering · Materials Science
M4 · M4 — Director · Individual contributor
Median pay · United States
$167,689
$131,734 – $213,457 · USD · annual · national base (function pricing in review)
Level position
M4 · 2 of 4 in track
Median pay
$167,689
$131,734–$213,457
Level
M4
M4 · 2 of 4 in track
Super-function
engineering
Demand-heat
cool
4.9% growth
Summary
Leads the people, programs, and budgets of materials science R&D — managing scientists who research, characterize, and optimize advanced materials (metals, alloys, polymers, ceramics, composites) using techniques such as XRD, SEM/TEM, mechanical testing, thermal analysis (DSC/EGA), surface analysis (XPS, AFM, EDS, SIMS, AES), and computational modeling (pymatgen, matminer, MAST-ML, pyMKS, ASE, DAMASK). Distinct from hands-on bench/IC characterization and from plastics/process focus areas: this management track is accountable for portfolio direction, resource and instrumentation allocation, safety compliance, cross-functional integration into product development, and securing funding rather than personally executing experiments.
This level — M4 M4 — Director
Leads a function or department; owns strategy, budget, and outcomes for the area.