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Job Description

Overview

As a valued Physical Metallurgist in the Mechanics, Materials and Process Research Lab at General Motors Research and Development, you will innovate in steel metallurgy for next-generation vehicle and manufacturing applications. Your work will guide experimental efforts and help translate metallurgical research into practical solutions for vehicle structures and manufacturing processes.

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, precipitation, recovery, 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 models when appropriate.
  • Drive collaborations with GM engineering teams, universities, and research partners.
  • Prepare technical reports, presentations, publications, and invention disclosures.
  • Generate intellectual property to protect new inventions.
  • Assist and mentor other employees in research goals.

Requirements

  • Pursuit of an Advanced degree (M.S. or Ph.D.) in Materials Science and Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering, Physics, Mechanical Engineering, or a closely related field.
  • Must be a current student.
  • Strong foundation in physical metallurgy and structure-property relationships.
  • Experience with advanced high-strength steels and related ferrous alloys.
  • Experience with thermo-mechanical processing and heat treatment.
  • Experience with metallographic preparation and characterization techniques.
  • Experience designing and interpreting mechanical or durability testing.
  • Ability to connect alloy chemistry, processing conditions, microstructure, and performance.
  • Experience working in multidisciplinary research teams.
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Additional Information

  • This role is categorized as hybrid, requiring reporting to Warren, MI three times per week.
  • Start dates for this internship role are May 24th & June 14th of 2027.
  • GM does not provide immigration-related sponsorship for this role.

Benefits

Vision
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How this job compares in Warren, MI

Pay in context

At roughly $52/hr, this posting sits about 107% 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 98% 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.

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. 2027 Summer Intern - Research and Development - Physical Metallurgist (Steels) figures were last recalculated when this page was built.