Production Engineer (Starship Electronics)

Hawthorne, CA

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

Production Engineer (Starship Electronics)

The Starship Electronics team takes on the challenge of developing hardware for the Starship spacecraft and SuperHeavy booster. In this role you will support the production of all electrical systems, from communications to power, navigation, and crewed life support. This will be one of the most sophisticated and largest vehicles flown in space, where low cost and high production rates are required to enable the mission.

Responsibilities

Develop, standardize, and continuously improve process chains required to deliver Starship electronics components.

Design and deliver new factory stations and production assets, aimed at expanding capability, reducing cycle time, and improving yield.

Design and deliver mechanical tooling required to build, test, and deliver avionics hardware, including both custom mechanical tools (e.g., fixturing) and capital automation equipment.

Develop design‑for‑manufacturing (DFM) guidelines and maintain a collaborative relationship with design engineering to co‑design the product and factory.

Act as an expert on low‑cost, high‑reliability manufacturing techniques for aerospace electro‑mechanical components.

Guide high‑level vehicle architecture and requirements trade studies to reduce vehicle cost and ease production.

Analyze root cause and provide corrective actions for process escapes or variability, including mechanical processes on final assembly (e.g., fastener torque) and electrical processes on printed circuit boards (e.g., soldering).

Basic Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in mechanical, aerospace, or industrial engineering.

1+ year of manufacturing engineering experience via project team, research, internship, and/or professional experience.

Preferred Skills and Experience

Experience sharing information and influencing others across organizational lines.

Experience working both autonomously and as a team in a highly demanding environment.

Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to make presentations to engineering, team members, internal customers, and management.

Proficient in mechanical design tools and analysis, including mechanical CAD, FEA, GD&T/drawing creation, and tolerance stack analysis.

Experience with PCB fabrication or PCBA assembly processes, equipment, and design‑for‑manufacturing (DFM) requirements.

Experience with electro‑mechanical assembly processes, equipment, and design‑for‑manufacturing (DFM) requirements.

Experience designing production systems for controllers, sensors, cameras, optics, or long‑range RF communications, as demonstrated by successful fielding of multiple products.

Experience with process failure modes and effects analysis (PFMEA), with demonstrated corrective actions to reduce process risk and increase process control.

Experience introducing capital equipment/automating processes, including process control and preventative maintenance plans.

Experience working in a high‑volume or high‑reliability manufacturing environment.

Experience reducing processing cost through cycle time, labor time, reliability/yield, or other forms of value stream evaluation.

Proficiency in pulling and manipulating data via one or more programming languages (e.g., SQL, Python).

Additional Requirements

Extended hours and weekend work may be required to support critical project milestones.

Occasional travel may be required to Starbase, Texas and/or off‑site vendor locations.

Compensation and Benefits
Pay Range:

Production Engineer/Level I: $95,000.00 – $115,000.00 per year.

Production Engineer/Level II: $110,000.00 – $130,000.00 per year.

Your actual level and base salary will be determined on a case‑by‑case basis and may vary based on job‑related knowledge and skills, education, and experience.

Base salary is only part of your total rewards package at SpaceX. You may also be eligible for long‑term incentives, including company stock, stock options, or long‑term cash awards, discretionary bonuses, and the ability to purchase additional stock at a discount through an Employee Stock Purchase Plan. You will also receive comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage; a 401(k) retirement plan; short‑ and long‑term disability insurance; life insurance; paid parental leave; and various other discounts and perks. You may accrue up to 3 weeks of paid vacation and will be eligible for 10 or more paid holidays per year. Paid sick leave is provided in accordance with company policy, which meets or exceeds required legal standards.

To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicants must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, refugee, asylee, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
SpaceX is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment is governed by merit, competence, and qualifications and will not be influenced by race, color, religion, gender, national origin, 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 who require reasonable accommodation, should reach out to EEOCompliance@spacex.com.

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