SpaceX

Builds rockets and runs Starlink satellite internet

Welding Engineer - Starship

Manufacturing & Process EngineeringConfirmed live in the last 24 hours

Full-timeBrownsville, TX, USANo salary listedIn-person

About the Job

Requirements

A bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline is required.
At least 1 year of hands-on fabrication, manufacturing, or testing experience with welded assemblies is required.
Willingness to work long hours and weekends as needed to support and maintain build schedules is required.
Ability to perform duties involving standing, kneeling, crouching, upper-body twisting, working in cramped positions and small openings, and climbing hand over hand is required.
Ability to multitask and communicate status and results with a broad range of internal and external departments is required.

Responsibilities

Develop, optimize, and qualify weld processes and parameters for processes including electron beam, laser beam, gas tungsten arc, orbital tube, resistance, gas metal arc, friction stir, and plasma arc welding.
Support production operations on full-scale welded assemblies and direct manufacturing engineers and welders on correct techniques in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
Support design, manufacturing, and materials engineering with root cause analysis.
Collaborate with design, tooling, automation, and development engineers to improve welded designs for manufacturing.
Set up welding qualification test campaigns and interpret mechanical testing and nondestructive examination results.
Work with nondestructive examination personnel to interpret weld quality on development and flight hardware, and develop and implement improved nondestructive examination techniques.
Use testing and nondestructive examination results as feedback to develop and implement improved process controls.
Set up automated welding solutions to drive process consistency.
Evaluate new welding technologies to improve production rate, quality, and efficiency.

Desired Qualifications

A master's degree in welding engineering or a related technical program is preferred.
Hands-on welding experience with stainless steel, nickel-based, titanium, copper, and aluminum alloys is preferred.
Experience with brazing, joining, and metallographic interpretation is preferred.
Fundamental understanding of welding processes, including electron beam, laser beam, plasma arc, resistance, friction-stir, gas tungsten arc, and gas metal arc welding, is preferred.
Robot programming experience for automated welding solutions is preferred.
Tooling design experience for welded assemblies to reduce part distortion and improve part consistency is preferred.
Understanding of weld strength testing methodologies, standards, and data acquisition systems, including ASTM E8, E399, E740, ISO 15653, AWS D17.X, AWS C7.X, thermocouples, and strain gauges, is preferred.
Experience with root cause analysis and corrective actions, including optical and scanning electron microscopy fractography/metallography, hardness testing, chemical analysis, and mechanical testing, is preferred.

SpaceX was founded under the belief that a future where humanity is out exploring the stars is fundamentally more exciting than one where we are not. Today SpaceX is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal of enabling human life on Mars.

WELDING ENGINEER (STARSHIP)

This position will support the development of SpaceX’s Starship launch vehicles alongside a strong design-and-build engineering group. The welding engineer will help develop, qualify, and optimize welding designs and processes. The engineer will interface daily with design-and-build engineers to make welding improvements and enforce standardized practices and procedures on multiple welded assemblies.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Develop, optimize, and qualify weld processes and parameters for multiple welding processes, including but not limited to electron beam welding, laser beam welding, gas tungsten arc welding, orbital tube welding, resistance welding, gas metal arc welding, friction stir welding, and plasma arc welding
Support production operations on full-scale welded assemblies, providing direction to manufacturing engineers and welders on correct techniques in a fast-paced manufacturing environment
Support design, manufacturing, and materials engineering with root cause analysis
Work closely with design, tooling, automation, and development engineers to improve welded designs for manufacturing
Set up welding qualification test campaigns and interpret mechanical testing and NDE results
Work closely with NDE personnel to interpret weld quality on development and flight hardware in addition to developing and implementing innovative state-of-the-art NDE techniques
Develop and implement improved process control where possible using test and NDE results as a feedback loop
Set up automated welding solutions in an effort to drive process consistency
Scope out new welding technologies that may be employed to improve rate/quality/efficiency

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

Bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline
1+ years of experience with hands-on fabrication, manufacturing, or testing experience of welded assemblies

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

Master’s degree in welding engineering or related technical program
Hands-on welding experience in stainless steel, nickel-based, titanium, copper, and aluminum alloys
Experience with brazing, joining, and metallographic interpretation
Fundamental understanding of welding processes including, but not limited to, electron beam, laser beam, plasma arc, resistance, friction-stir, gas tungsten arc, and gas metal arc
Robot programming experience for automated welding solutions
Tooling design experience for welded assemblies to reduce part distortion and improve part consistency
Understanding of weld strength testing methodologies, standards, and data acquisition systems used to make informed welding decisions (ASTM E8, E399, E740, ISO 15653, AWS D17.X, AWS C7.X, thermos-couples, strain gages, etc.)
Experience with root cause analysis and corrective actions including, but not limited to, optical and SEM fractography/metallography, hardness, chemical analysis, and mechanical testing
Self-motivated engineer with keen attention to detail

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

Must be willing to work long hours and weekends as needed to support and maintain build schedules
Ability to perform job duties that require standing, kneeling, crouching, twisting upper body, working in cramped positions in small openings, and climbing hand over hand
Strong ability to multi-task and communicate status and results with a broad spectrum of internal and external departments

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. Learn more about the ITAR here.

SpaceX is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with SpaceX is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

Applicants wishing to view a copy of SpaceX’s Affirmative Action Plan for veterans and individuals with disabilities, or applicants requiring reasonable accommodation to the application/interview process should reach out to [email protected].

About the Company

SpaceX

Builds rockets and runs Starlink satellite internet

SpaceX builds and launches reusable rockets and spacecraft for NASA, the military, and companies, and it runs Starlink, a satellite internet service for homes and businesses. In 2020, its Dragon capsule became the first privately built spacecraft to carry astronauts to the International Space Station. Its Falcon 9 rocket lands its first stage so the booster can fly again, which cuts launch costs, while Starlink beams internet from low-orbit satellites to small dishes for a monthly fee. SpaceX also owns xAI, maker of the Grok chatbot and owner of the social network X, and is building Starship, a fully reusable rocket meant to carry people to the Moon and Mars. Elon Musk founded SpaceX in 2002, and it is based in Starbase, Texas.

Company size: 10,001+
Company stage: IPO
Headquarters: Starbase, Texas
Founded: 2002

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