From Materials Engineering to a Job at SpaceX: NJIT Graduate Pia Piazzi Built a Bright Future
All engineers are familiar with the chemical, mechanical and physical properties of the materials that they work with. But for materials engineers, their expertise goes much deeper, demonstrating highly detailed knowledge — down to the molecular and atomic level — of materials such as ceramics, concrete, metals, plastics, textiles and compounds that are compatible with living tissues.
Pia Piazzi '26, a graduate of New Jersey Institute of Technology with a B.S. in materials engineering, is bringing that proficiency in materials science to the aerospace industry.
During her time at NJIT's Newark College of Engineering, Piazzi followed a thread that led from an early interest in textile engineering to NJIT's materials engineering program, then to a staff position at SpaceX. She joined the company after graduation as a build reliability engineer for Starship, the system that includes SpaceX's Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket, which completed a 12th test flight on May 22.
"I'll be hitting the ground running," says Piazzi. "Being on Starship is really exciting. I am hoping that almost immediately I can start working on my own tickets, and being a point of reference for people if they have questions about reliability on certain projects that I'll have ownership over."
Embracing the Unknown
Materials science is broad, but it was the breadth of her major that appealed to Piazzi, allowing her to explore engineering applications for a wide range of materials before finding the discipline that was the best fit.
"Over time, I've been able to work on a bunch of different materials, whether it be polymers or ceramics or composites. I was ready to let materials take me anywhere," she says. "That was exciting for me — the surprise and unknown of what it could be."
An Albert Dorman Honors Scholar, Piazzi took on leadership roles in student engineering societies, serving as president of the Materials Research Society student chapter and as chair for the Material Advantage student chapter. As a Student Senate representative for the materials engineering major, she connected with other student leaders; their advice guided her toward next steps in her professional life.
"I'd hear about their internship experiences and their interview processes," she says. "It was a way for me to accumulate a plethora of information from a lot of people I respected, all at once."
Along with information, Piazzi began accumulating achievements. Her team placed second in the 2023 First-Year Engineering Design Showcase, for a carbon-capturing prototype. Also in 2023, she received a $3,000 Robert Sydney Needham Fellowship for a research proposal on rheology — the study of how materials flow and deform. Piazzi spent 10 weeks researching emulsion rheology under David Venerus, an NJIT professor of chemical and materials engineering, earning an induction into NJIT's chapter of the National Academy of Innovators.
A very big turning point
Fall of sophomore year was "a very big turning point," she says. "I started becoming friends with a lot of upperclassmen at NJIT who had their professionalism down to a T. They had interned at big-name companies, and I was able to leverage their feedback and advice to put me in a position where, after my sophomore year, I could assume similar roles."
In 2024, Piazzi presented a poster at the Materials Science and Technology (MS&T24) conference, for an investigation into the mechanical properties of silicone-based composite materials. At the conference, she learned about a program in Arizona called the MateriAlZ Winter School.
"It's a fully funded program that brings undergraduates to the University of Arizona Biosphere to learn about material science and engineering," she says. "I applied, was accepted, and then that winter of my junior year, I was able to go to Arizona and be fully immersed in the world of material science and engineering for four days."
As a member of the Alpha Kappa Psi Professional Business Fraternity, a co-ed fraternity open to NJIT students in all majors, she learned more about building her resume, preparing for job interviews and honing professional behavior. Summer internships in materials engineering followed, at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center (DEVCOM AC) in 2024, and at Tesla in 2025.
The best choice
In her new job at SpaceX, Piazzi joins an interdisciplinary team contributing to fabrication, prototype design, inspection procedures, and data collection and visualization.
As Piazzi prepared for graduation, NJIT recognized her varied accomplishments by naming her a Newark College of Engineering Departmental Outstanding Senior for the Otto H. York Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering. She received the award at a ceremony held on April 16, 2026.
"The Outstanding Senior Award meant a lot, because the department has really been there for me," she says. In turn, "I've tried to give as much as I can to them — volunteering at the open houses and sharing my story with prospective students." Some of those students who ended up at NJIT, later told Piazzi that her story played a part in their decision to attend.
"That always makes me very happy to hear, because I have loved my time at NJIT," she says. "Sharing that with others and having that potentially influence their choice to come here means a lot."
If Piazzi could go back in time to when she arrived at NJIT as a freshman, she would have a five-word message for herself: You made the best choice.
"I think I knew almost immediately after meeting my freshman year roommates and getting started on campus that this was going to be a really good four years," she said. "And now, looking back, it absolutely was."