Kiln Technician - Thermal Hardware, Starship
About the job
- High school diploma or equivalency certificate
- 2+ years of hands-on experience in manufacturing, maintenance, or operations
- Ability to pass an Air Force background check for Cape Canaveral
- Ability to work extended hours, nights, weekends, and overtime as needed to support high-rate production
- Ability to lift up to 50 lbs, stand for long periods, and work in hot, noisy environments with proper PPE
- Must be able to climb ladders/stairs and perform tasks in confined or elevated areas when required
- ITAR REQUIREMENTS: To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.
- Operate kilns and supporting equipment (conveyors, transport system, loaders, atmosphere controls, burners, etc) daily following standard work instructions and safety protocols
- Perform routine monitoring of kiln parameters including temperature zones, atmosphere, pressure, and cycle times; log data accurately and report deviations immediately
- Conduct daily walk-downs, visual inspections, and basic cleaning/lubrication of kiln components such as heating elements, seals, belts, rollers, and sensors
- Execute scheduled preventive maintenance (PM), calibration checks, minor part replacements, and tool/fixture preparation
- Actively work on transportation systems, motors, alignment, and mechanical work required to keep the system healthy
- Troubleshoot and resolve basic operational issues (e.g., alarms, uneven heating, conveyor jams) using established procedures and escalate complex problems to the Specialist or Engineer
- Champion proper use of maintenance tickets by documenting issues clearly and completing assigned corrective actions promptly
- Assist with kiln changeovers, setup, and recovery from stops or crashes by following detailed recovery instructions
- Support production quality investigations by providing detailed observations from daily operations and assisting with containment or rework as directed
- Maintain a clean and organized work area; ensure tools, PPE, and spare parts are properly stored and available for immediate use
- Participate in team huddles, report daily equipment status, and contribute basic improvement ideas based on hands-on experience
- Follow all safety protocols including lock-out/tag-out, hot work permits, and proper material handling for high-temperature environments
- Technical certification or associate degree in industrial maintenance, mechatronics, or related field
- Demonstrated mechanical aptitude and comfort working with tools, machinery, and basic troubleshooting
- Direct experience operating or maintaining kilns, dryers, or high-temperature industrial equipment in ceramics, aerospace materials, or high-volume manufacturing
- Familiarity with reading gauges, interpreting alarms/trends, and using basic HMI interfaces
- Understanding of preventive maintenance principles, spare parts management, and 5S/Lean workplace practices
- Experience with safety systems, PPE usage, and working in hot or physically demanding environments
- Knowledge of basic quality tools (root cause basics, following control plans, documenting nonconformances)
- Prior exposure to processes such as CNC support, material handling, assembly, or thermal processing of composites/ceramics
- Strong team player with good communication skills and reliability in shift-based work
About the company
SpaceX designs, builds, and launches rockets and spacecraft for government and commercial customers, using reusable first stages to cut costs. Its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy recover their boosters to enable rapid reuse, while Dragon transports cargo and crew to the International Space Station. Starlink operates a satellite internet constellation to provide global broadband coverage. It earns revenue from launches and merchandise, with the broader goal of making space travel cheaper and, over time, enabling human life on other planets and expanding global internet access.
Company Size
10,001+
Company Stage
IPO
Headquarters
Starbase, Texas
Founded
2002
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- Flight 14 deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites on September 28, 2026, adding 26 Tbps capacity.
- FAA licensed Flight 14 on September 26, 2026, clearing SpaceX's next orbital campaign.
- SpaceX's self-funding and Starlink cash flow bankroll Starship development and orbital data centers.
What critics are saying
- Starship still lacks repeatable reusability; engine shutdowns on Flight 14 exposed reliability gaps.
- NASA OIG said Starship HLS misses June 2027 readiness, delaying Artemis III.
- If Starship refueling stalls, SpaceX's lunar ambitions and orbital economics collapse.
What makes SpaceX unique
- Starship Flight 14 reached orbit on September 28, 2026, proving orbital capability.
- SpaceX controls rockets, satellites, and launch pads, compressing iteration faster than rivals.
- NASA still depends on SpaceX Starship HLS for Artemis III and Artemis IV.
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Benefits
Benefits and Perks - Our employees’ well-being is important to us and essential to our capacity to do extraordinary things. We offer a wide variety of programs to support the health, wellness, and financial security of our employees and their families.
Growth & Insights and Company News
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↑ 0%Google launched its first orbital compute satellite today aboard a SpaceX rocket from California, testing whether its Tensor Processing Unit can function in space. The satellite, built by Planet Labs, will run 15-minute computing bursts to avoid straining power and thermal systems. The test is part of Project Suncatcher, Google's plan to develop large-scale orbital compute clusters. The company envisions a network of 81 satellites processing in parallel, though scaling depends on dramatically cheaper rocket launches. Google released analysis suggesting SpaceX's Starship must launch approximately 1,800 times over the next decade—flying 370,000 tonnes of payload—to achieve the $200 per kilogram launch costs needed by 2035. That requires 180 yearly launches at 200 metric tonnes each, far exceeding Starship's current five annual flights. Radiation testing showed Google's chips can handle inference workloads for five-year satellite lifespans, though error rates remain problematic for large-scale training operations.
SpaceX's Starlink is becoming a more credible threat to terrestrial broadband providers like Comcast and Charter Communications, particularly in rural and lower-density markets, according to MoffettNathanson analyst Craig Moffett. SpaceX recently deployed 26 higher-capacity V3 satellites via its first Starship orbital flight, marking a significant milestone for the service. Moffett told CNBC that Starlink poses a greater competitive challenge to broadband providers than to wireless carriers like AT&T and Verizon. However, he expects the transition to take time, with most of the constellation consisting of V3 satellites only after 2030. Despite improvements, Starlink is not expected to match speeds offered by terrestrial fibre or cable broadband. The technology remains best suited to rural markets whilst also serving some customers in denser areas.
Tesla and SpaceX shares rose Wednesday after ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood said Elon Musk was "working all angles" with US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping regarding a potential merger between the companies. Tesla closed 0.6% higher at $354.81, whilst SpaceX gained 1.1% to $150.86. Wood identified China as a major hurdle to any deal, given SpaceX's national security role and Tesla's substantial Shanghai operations. US government sales accounted for 20.9% of SpaceX's 2025 revenue, whilst China represents about a fifth of Tesla's sales. Musk denied reports of a possible separation of Tesla's China business. ARK continued buying both stocks, purchasing 48,352 Tesla shares and 9,112 SpaceX shares worth approximately $1.3 million on Tuesday.
SpaceX launches Starship Flight 14 on first orbital test mission. 2 hours ago Starship Flight 14 lifted off from Starbase in Texas, reaching orbital velocity for the first time in the programme's flight-test history. SpaceX has launched its Starship vehicle into orbit for the first time, marking a major milestone in the development of the company's fully reusable launch system. Starship Flight 14 lifted off from SpaceX's Starbase facility in South Texas. The mission was the 14th full-scale Starship test flight and the first designed to send the spacecraft into Earth orbit. Previous flights had followed suborbital trajectories to support testing and development. The mission achieved its primary orbital objective despite an engine issue during the spacecraft's ascent. One of Starship's Raptor engines shut down earlier than planned, but flight controllers continued with the mission after assessing the vehicle's condition. Starship subsequently performed its orbital insertion burn using a single Raptor engine and reached low Earth orbit approximately 25 minutes after launch. The mission also marked the first operational deployment of Starlink V3 satellites from Starship. The spacecraft successfully released 26 satellites into orbit. SpaceX said each V3 satellite is designed to add approximately 1 Tbps of capacity to the Starlink network, giving the mission a potential total of 26 Tbps of additional capacity. The company said this represents roughly 10 times the capacity of a Falcon 9 launch carrying Starlink V2 Mini satellites. Three of the deployed satellites carried cameras designed to capture imagery of Starship's heat shield. SpaceX plans to use the data to assess the vehicle's thermal protection system and support the development of future missions involving the return of Starship to its launch site. The flight was originally planned as an approximately 10-hour mission involving around six orbits at an altitude of roughly 275 km, followed by a controlled splashdown in the Pacific Ocean west of Chile. However, the mission was shortened after the engine issue. Starship completed several hours of flight before re-entering the atmosphere and splashing down in the Pacific Ocean north of Hawaii. The Super Heavy booster also completed a controlled return following stage separation, splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico. Engine issues affected the booster during the flight, but the vehicle nevertheless completed key elements of the planned ascent and return sequence. Flight 14 represents an important step in SpaceX's effort to develop Starship as a fully and rapidly reusable transportation system. The vehicle is intended to support satellite deployment and eventually crewed missions beyond low Earth orbit, including NASA's Artemis lunar exploration programme. NASA has selected SpaceX to develop the Starship Human Landing System for Artemis III and Artemis IV. Under NASA's current plan, Starship will undergo additional testing, including an uncrewed lunar demonstration, before it can be used for crewed lunar missions. The successful orbital insertion and deployment of operational Starlink satellites mark a new phase in Starship's flight-test programme, while the engine anomaly and shortened mission provide additional data for SpaceX as it continues work toward routine launches and rapid reusability.
SpaceX expects to have nearly 450,000 additional Nvidia GPUs operational by October, according to Barron's. A cluster of 220,000 Nvidia GB300 Blackwell GPUs should be running within days, with another 220,000 coming by October. This adds to the 780,000 Blackwell and Hopper processors already operating in SpaceX's data centres. The deal is particularly significant for SpaceX, which recently went public. The company has struck compute-capacity rental agreements with Anthropic and Alphabet worth approximately $26 billion annually combined. Start-up Reflection AI signed a deal worth $150 million monthly. These revenue streams are meaningful for SpaceX, which generated $18.7 billion in sales in 2025 but incurred a $4.9 billion loss. The additional GPU capacity could enable more cloud rental deals, helping fund SpaceX's orbital AI infrastructure plans.