Taiki Shirai

Taiki Shirai is a Senior Materials and Process Engineer at Rocket Lab since August 2025, with a strong background in materials engineering and additive manufacturing. Prior experience includes serving as Lead Engineer in Materials and Processes at Divergent from January 2023 to August 2025, where responsibilities encompassed powder vendor qualification and driving quality-related investigations. At Divergent, Taiki also held roles as Materials Lab Manager and Materials Characterization Engineer, managing teams and leading the design of novel aluminum alloys. A Master's degree in Materials Science and Engineering was obtained from UC Irvine, where Taiki also completed a Bachelor's degree in the same field. Previous roles include internships and research positions at several organizations, contributing to significant advancements in powder metallurgy and laser processing techniques.