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Job Description

Overview

As a Physical Metallurgist at General Motors Research and Development, you will focus on innovating steel metallurgy for vehicle and manufacturing applications. The role involves proposing research directions, establishing technical plans, and leading studies on various aspects of steel materials.

Responsibilities

  • Plan and execute collaborative research in physical metallurgy and ferrous materials.
  • Develop and apply composition-process-structure-property relationships for advanced steels.
  • Investigate phase transformations, recrystallization, and damage mechanisms.
  • Design and evaluate thermo-mechanical processing and heat-treatment strategies.
  • Characterize steel microstructures and defects using various methods.
  • Evaluate performance characteristics such as tensile, fatigue, and corrosion.
  • Partner with manufacturing and engineering teams to address production challenges.
  • Connect experimental observations with computational models.
  • Drive collaborations with engineering teams, universities, and research partners.
  • Prepare technical reports, presentations, and publications.
  • Generate intellectual property to protect new inventions.
  • Assist and mentor other employees in research goals.

Requirements

  • Advanced degree (M.S. or Ph.D.) in Materials Science, Metallurgical Engineering, Physics, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field.
  • Must be graduating between August 2026 - June 2027.
  • Able to work fulltime, 40 hours per week.
  • Strong foundation in physical metallurgy and structure-property relationships.
  • Experience with various types of steels and thermo-mechanical processing.
  • Experience with metallographic preparation and characterization techniques.
  • Experience designing and interpreting mechanical or durability testing.
  • Ability to connect alloy chemistry, processing conditions, and performance.
  • Experience working in multidisciplinary research teams.
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Additional Information

  • This role is hybrid, requiring reporting to Warren, MI three times per week.
  • GM does not provide immigration-related sponsorship for this role.
  • The position is subject to export control restrictions and requires the candidate to be a U.S. Person.

Benefits

Vision
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How this job compares in Warren, MI

Pay in context

At roughly $75/hr, this posting sits about 199% above the $25/hr median for welding jobs across Michigan — toward the top of a $22–$32/hr middle band drawn from 61 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 100% of the comparable postings we have wage data for. Pay that far above local median usually comes attached to something: a harder cert requirement, travel, night shift, or overtime that isn't really optional. Worth establishing which before you accept.

The local market in Warren, MI

Warren, MI currently has 5 other active welding openings besides this one, spread across 5 employers. 1 of them was added in the last week. Across Michigan as a whole we're tracking 91 other active welding openings from 68 employers. That's enough local activity to be worth comparing two or three offers before committing. Browse every welding job in Warren, or widen the search to Michigan.

General Motors currently has 2 other openings live in Michigan, which is usually a sign of either steady growth or steady turnover — worth asking which in the interview.

The most active employers in Michigan at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are Qualified Staffing (8), Welding Shop in Detroit, MI (7), and Fabcon Precast (3). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

What you'll be running

This posting calls for MIG and TIG work. MIG (GMAW) feeds a continuous wire electrode through a shielding-gas nozzle. It lays down metal fast and is forgiving on clean material, which is why it dominates production and light fabrication work. TIG (GTAW) uses a non-consumable tungsten electrode with filler added by hand, giving the operator the most control of any process. It is slow, demanding, and the standard for stainless, aluminum, and anything where the bead has to look as good as it holds.

See all entry level welder openings if you want to compare this against similar roles.

Similar openings near Warren, MI

Pay figures are medians computed from live postings in the Welding Pros index, not from survey data, and they move as employers post. Entry-Level - Physical Metallurgist - Steels figures were last recalculated when this page was built.