SpaceX

Builds rockets and runs Starlink satellite internet

Operations Engineer - Starbase Infrastructure

Facilities ManagementConfirmed live in the last 24 hours

Full-timeBrownsville, TX, USANo salary listed

About the Job

Requirements

A bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline is required.
At least 1 year of professional experience in industrial plant, central plant, utilities, facilities, power generation, process operations, or maintenance engineering is required.
The role requires the ability to work extended hours, weekends, and offsite as needed.
The role requires the ability to work in extreme outdoor conditions, including heat, cold, wind, and rain.
The role requires the ability to lift 25 pounds unassisted, climb ladders, and walk the plants and shops supported.
The role is onsite in Starbase, Texas; remote work is not considered.
The role requires willingness to travel to other SpaceX sites as needed, up to 15%.
Applicants must be a U.S. citizen or national, lawful permanent resident, refugee, or asylee, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Responsibilities

Standardize how work is requested, planned, executed, and closed across infrastructure shops, using a common work-order, preventive-maintenance, estimate, and closeout standard while documenting exceptions required by systems such as medium-voltage electrical, TCEQ water, or cryogenic gas.
Adopt company and site standards, including Warp, Foundation, lockout/tagout, management of change, and commissioning turnover, and apply processes from other SpaceX plants when appropriate.
Select an appropriate fix for identified problems, choosing software, artificial intelligence, or data; a physical or tooling change; or a personnel skill and behavior standard, and explain the rationale.
Define and improve the work-management system, including Warp and Foundation work orders, preventive and predictive maintenance backlogs, kitting, as-found and as-left closeout, and critical spares. Write work orders for owned initiatives; supervisors and engineering own daily work-order writing and planning releases.
Provide shops with staffing-relevant visibility into estimated versus actual time, remaining hours, and jobs blocking a customer.
Own commissioning and operational readiness for new or modified systems, including punch lists, initial preventive maintenance, manufacturing bill of materials and spare setup, procedures, and trained turnover to operations.
Translate design packages, including one-line diagrams, piping and instrumentation diagrams, vendor submittals, and construction requests for proposal, into isolation plans, lockout/tagout, work instructions, and hold points that technicians can execute.
Establish asset identity for equipment that is not formally documented, including what the equipment is, what feeds it, which preventive maintenance it receives, and where its work orders are recorded.
Measure shop performance using availability, preventive-maintenance compliance, work-order aging, estimate accuracy, and contractor-versus-in-house mix; brief supervisors and site leadership.
Write procedures for shop use and teach leads and technicians the standard so shops can operate independently while maintaining justified unique cases.

Desired Qualifications

At least 2 years of experience in a process plant, municipal or industrial utility, semiconductor or data-center facilities, shipyard, or similar 24/7 plant.
Hands-on work-management experience with Warp, Foundation, Maximo, SAP PM, or an equivalent computerized maintenance management system, including writing and closing a work order to support an initiative.
Experience reading piping and instrumentation diagrams, electrical one-line diagrams, and original equipment manufacturer manuals, and writing procedures technicians can follow on night shift.
Experience commissioning equipment or establishing its operational readiness, from punch lists through initial preventive maintenance and spare setup.
Working knowledge of lockout/tagout, management of change, confined space, and energized or pressurized systems.
Familiarity with at least two of the following: medium-voltage or industrial electrical systems; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning or building management systems; industrial gas or compressed air; water or wastewater; rotating equipment.
Exposure to TCEQ public water or wastewater systems or a similar permitted plant.
Practical use of SQL, Power BI, scripting, or artificial intelligence to reduce manual work in work orders, preventive maintenance, and reports, with judgment about when technician skills are the appropriate solution.
Experience overseeing contractors and vendors at an active industrial site.
Internships, clubs, or other hands-on extracurricular activities qualify.

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.

OPERATIONS ENGINEER, STARBASE INFRASTRUCTURE

Starbase infrastructure — site power, HVAC, facilities, production fluids, industrial gas, water, and wastewater — is run by technician shops. This Operations Engineer standardizes how those shops plan, execute, and close work so the site runs as one operating system. Match existing SpaceX / site standards where they work; write a unique process only when the circumstances require it, and say why. When something is broken or slow, pick the lever: a tool (including software and AI), a physical change, or a people standard. Warp work orders, PMs, punch lists, and labor hours should mean the same thing in every shop. You write WOs for the initiatives you own; supervisors and leads own the daily flow.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Standardize how work is requested, planned, executed, and closed across all infrastructure shops. One WO / PM / estimate / closeout standard, with documented exceptions where a system (MV electrical, TCEQ water, cryogenic gas, etc.) requires them
Adopt company and site standards (Warp, Foundation, LOTO, MOC, commissioning turnover) and pull in processes from other SpaceX plants where they fit
Choose the fix: software / AI / data, a physical or tooling change, or a personnel skill and behavior standard. Be explicit which lever you are using and why it is the right one for that problem
Define and improve the work-management system: Warp / Foundation work orders, PM and PdM backlog, kitting, as-found / as-left closeout, critical spares. Write WOs to support the initiatives you are driving; supervisors and engineering own daily WO writing and planning releases
Give shops visibility they can staff against: time estimates vs actuals, remaining hours, and which jobs are blocking a customer
Own commissioning and operational-readiness for new or modified systems: punch lists, first PMs, mBOM / spare setup, procedures, and trained turnover to operations
Translate design packages (one-lines, P&IDs, vendor submittals, construction RFPs) into isolation plans, LOTO, work instructions, and hold points the floor can execute
Stand up asset identity for equipment that is still informal: what it is, what feeds it, what PM it gets, where the WO lives
Put numbers on the shops: availability, PM compliance, WO aging, estimate accuracy, contractor vs in-house mix; brief supervisors and site leadership
Write the procedures the shops actually use and teach leads and technicians the standard — you succeed when the shop runs it without you in the room, including the cases that stay unique on purpose

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

Bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline
1+ years of professional experience in industrial plant, central plant, utilities, facilities, power generation, process operations, or maintenance engineering

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

2+ years in a process plant, municipal or industrial utility, semiconductor or data-center facilities, shipyard, or similar 24/7 plant
Hands-on work management: Warp, Foundation, Maximo, SAP PM, or equivalent CMMS; you can write and close a work order to support an initiative
Experience reading P&IDs, electrical one-lines, and OEM manuals, and writing a procedure a technician can follow on night shift
Experience commissioning or standing up operational-readiness of new equipment (punch list through first PMs and spare setup)
Working knowledge of LOTO, MOC, confined space, and energized / pressurized systems
Familiarity with at least two of: medium-voltage or industrial electrical; HVAC / BMS; industrial gas or compressed air; water / wastewater; rotating equipment
TCEQ public water / wastewater or similar permitted-plant exposure
Practical use of SQL, Power BI, scripting, or AI to remove clerk work from WOs, PMs, and reports, with judgment for when the right answer is a technician skill
Experience overseeing contractors and vendors on a live industrial site
Ability to work well in an integrated collaborative team environment, including frequent interactions with technicians, engineers, and leadership
Internships, clubs, or other hands-on extra-curricular activities qualify

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

Ability to work extended hours, weekends, and offsite as needed
Must be able to work in extreme outdoor environments when needed — heat, cold, wind, rain
Must be able to lift 25 lbs. unassisted, climb ladders, and walk the plants and shops you support
This position is based in Starbase, TX (Brownsville / Boca Chica) and requires being onsite – remote work not considered
Must be willing to travel to other SpaceX sites when needed (up to 15%)

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

Recently Posted Jobs

Explore more opportunities at SpaceX

See more jobs