Air Separation Unit Operations Lead

SpaceX

8h

About The Position

As an air separation operations lead, you will own the safe, reliable, and efficient operation of SpaceX’s air separation unit that produces the high-purity liquid oxygen required for Starship. This role is critical to achieving rapid launch cadence and supporting Starship’s development at scale. You will lead operations teams, drive continuous improvement in plant performance, and help eliminate supply risk for one of the most propellant-intensive launch vehicles ever built. If you thrive in high-stakes industrial environments and want your work to directly enable humanity’s multiplanetary future, this is the role for you.

Requirements

• 2+ years of hands-on experience operating or directly supervising air separation units (ASU), large-scale industrial gas plants, or other commercial-scale process facilities
• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, aerospace engineering, or other engineering discipline

Nice To Haves

• Demonstrated experience leading teams in 24/7 industrial operations
• 5+ years of experience in air separation or cryogenic operations
• Strong working knowledge of cryogenic distillation, turboexpanders, centrifugal compressors, and molecular sieve systems
• Experience with data and control systems (Honeywell, Siemens, or Rockwell preferred)
• Track record of improving plant reliability and efficiency or reducing specific power consumption

Responsibilities

• Lead daily operations of air separation plants, including startup, shutdown, and steady-state production, targeting >98% availability within the first 12 months
• Hire and train an excellent engineering and operations team.
• Establish and improve operating procedures, alarm response plans, and troubleshooting for all air separation unit systems
• Partner with maintenance and design teams to reduce downtime and find the root cause
• Own operational safety and overall plant safety management
• Meet or exceed expected plant efficiency and output (distillation efficiency, power consumption, product purity)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees