SpaceX

Builds rockets and runs Starlink satellite internet

Lead Mechanical Engineer - Starship Avionics

Design EngineeringConfirmed live in the last 24 hours

Full-timeBrownsville, TX, USANo salary listed

About the Job

Requirements

A bachelor's degree in an engineering, science, or math discipline is required.
At least 3 years of professional experience designing mechanical components or assemblies are required.
Solid understanding and application of geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) is required.
Proficient and frequent use of hand calculations, finite element analysis, and computer-aided design is required.
The position requires onsite work in Starbase, Texas; remote work is not considered.
Must be able to work extended hours and weekends to support critical project and mission milestones.
Applicants must be U.S. citizens or nationals, U.S. lawful permanent residents, refugees, asylees, or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Responsibilities

Lead a team of mechanical engineers responsible for avionics design, integration, testing, and launch activities.
Drive conceptual design, architecture trades, and first-order sizing.
Develop design requirements where definition is lacking.
Optimize avionics development speed, mass, and cost.
Perform in-depth first-principles analysis and finite element analysis to assess and optimize designs.
Apply design-for-manufacturing principles, drive first-article builds, and make improvements needed to hand off subsequent builds to production.
Support production issues and drive design, process, and procedure improvements to maximize production efficiency and rate after the first-article build.
Design and execute development, acceptance, and qualification testing.
Drive delivery timelines from conception through design, parts, assembly, integration, and launch.
Work with analysts to develop thermal, vibration, and loading requirements, and with manufacturing engineers to optimize designs for rapid manufacturability.

Desired Qualifications

At least 1 year of experience leading teams, formally or as part of a team project, is preferred.
Ability to bring multiple disciplines together, assess risk, and make design and development decisions with incomplete information is preferred.
Self-motivation and the ability to multitask, organize work, communicate, and document effectively are preferred.
A strong sense of accountability and integrity 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.

LEAD MECHANICAL ENGINEER (STARSHIP AVIONICS)

Starship Avionics Mechanical is responsible for producing an avionics system minimizing vehicle cost/mass and providing electrical sensing, actuation, and control for flying the vehicle. Avionics includes RF communication, navigation sensors, electrical actuators, video systems, propulsion sensors, and energy storage. This role leads a team of mechanical engineers, and it is within a larger avionics team of electrical engineers designing electrical system and vehicle operations. This role will partner closely with adjacent Starship engineering and production teams to continuously improve the design and manufacturability of avionics hardware for current and next-generation vehicles. Team mission is to develop highly producible mechanical designs and packaging solutions that protect electronics from the harsh mechanical and thermal environments of launch vehicle operations.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Extreme ownership of avionics engineers to enable the rapid progress of design, integration, test, and launch activities
Drive conceptual design, architecture trades, and first order sizing
Develop design requirements where definition is lacking
Optimize the development speed, mass, and cost on our avionics
Perform in depth first principles analysis and FEA to assess and optimize designs
Incorporate design for manufacturing principles, drive first article builds, and make improvements necessary to hand off subsequent builds to production
Support production issues and drive design, process, and procedure improvements for maximum production efficiency and rate after first article build
Design and execute development, acceptance, and qualification testing
Drive delivery timeline through conception, design, parts, assembly and integration, and launch
Work closely with analysts to develop thermal, vibration, and loading requirements and with manufacturing engineers to optimize designs for rapid manufacturability

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

Bachelor’s degree in an engineering, science, or math discipline
3+ years of professional experience designing mechanical components or assemblies

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

1+ years of experience leading teams, either formally or as part of a team project
Creative problem solving that can bring multiple disciplines together with the ability to assess risk and make design and development decisions without all available data
Ability to work in a fast paced, autonomously driven, and demanding atmosphere
Self-motivated with strong multi-tasking, organizational, communication and documentation skills
Strong sense of accountability and integrity
Solid understanding and application of GD&T
Proficient and frequent use of hand calculations, finite element analyses (FEA), and computer-aided designs (CAD)

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

This position is based in Starbase, TX and requires being onsite - remote work not considered
Must be able to work extended hours and weekends to support critical project and mission milestones

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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