Lead Electrical Hardware Reliability Engineer (Starlink)

SpaceX•Bastrop, TX

3h•Onsite

About The Position

As a Lead Hardware Reliability Engineer, you will be responsible for the reliability of Starlink product hardware from factory to field. You will develop an in-depth understanding of the Starlink system, including hardware design, manufacturing processes, test procedures, RF, and network operation. You will lead a team focused on minimizing hardware failures and related customer downtime in the field. The role has high-visibility ownership that informs future product design, contributes to product launches, and involves regular communication of findings to senior leadership. You will set team strategy and ownership plans, align with management on longer-term development, and be accountable for team performance and development. You will mentor engineers in problem solving, stay closely involved in key projects and hardware concerns, and raise the team’s technical standards through tools, resources, training, and coaching. You will hold partner teams accountable for timelines and expectations, identify systemic issues, create projects to address them, and ensure compliance with relevant ISO standards and requirements. The role leads reliability efforts for the Starlink User Terminal Kit, including user terminals, Wi-Fi routers, power supplies, and cables. It encompasses product qualification, manufacturing reliability, field investigations, reliability testing and monitoring, production quality activities, root-cause investigations, and corrective actions. The position is based in the Austin-Bastrop area; remote or hybrid work is not considered.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, materials engineering, manufacturing engineering, aerospace engineering, or another engineering discipline.
At least 2 years of experience executing complex engineering projects in design qualification, manufacturing, hardware reliability, reliability testing, or a production environment.
At least 1 year of experience in a leadership position leading a team of 3 or more engineers.
Ability to work extended hours, weekends, and offsite as needed.
Willingness to travel up to 30% for work.
Willingness to relocate to the Austin-Bastrop area if not already local; remote or hybrid work is not considered.
Must meet the stated U.S. Government export-control eligibility requirements or be eligible to obtain required authorizations.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering.
Master’s degree in electrical, mechanical, materials, manufacturing, aerospace, or a related engineering discipline.
Experience developing and executing product qualification or hardware reliability strategies.
Experience developing objective test, inspection, and acceptance criteria.
Strong understanding of reliability engineering principles, failure mechanisms, root-cause investigation, and risk-based engineering decision-making.
Experience developing environmental, mechanical, electrical, RF, or system-level test methods.
Experience with PCBs, PCBAs, electromechanical assemblies, and complex hardware systems.
Demonstrated ability to investigate complex hardware failures and drive corrective actions to closure.
Experience with high-volume manufacturing and transitioning hardware from development into mass production.
Ability to identify and analyze production process improvements for rate, yield, and quality.
Working experience in an AS9100, ISO 9001, or equivalent quality management system.
Experience automating test execution, data analysis, or engineering reporting.
Experience monitoring and aggregating hardware telemetry to identify key performance trends or anomalies.
Demonstrated experience training, mentoring, and developing engineers.
Ability to organize, prioritize, assign, and track technical work and deliverables across multiple concurrent priorities.
Ability to independently define scope of work and drive projects from problem definition through technical resolution.
Demonstrated ability to work effectively in a highly adaptive and iterative environment.
Ability to influence cross-functional organizations through strong engineering rationale, business judgment, and data.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

Lead and mentor a team of engineers and specialists focused on hardware reliability and field performance for the Starlink User Terminal Kit, including user terminals, Wi-Fi routers, power supplies, and cables.
Allocate resources across new-product qualification campaigns, production reliability priorities, and field hardware investigations.
Develop team members through technical mentorship, clear ownership, and growth opportunities aligned with Starlink program goals.
Partner with hardware design, software, manufacturing, and supply chain teams to influence current and future designs and improve reliability across the product lifecycle.
Lead technical investigations of isolated or fleet-wide performance and hardware issues affecting Starlink customers, including issues identified through testing, production, or field findings.
Develop and execute reliability qualification strategies for new and existing products to maximize field life, minimize early-life failures, and demonstrate readiness for mass production.
Design and execute environmental, mechanical, electrical, RF, and system-level reliability testing tailored to product architecture, use conditions, and failure mechanisms.
Automate reliability test execution, data analysis, and reporting using appropriate data visualization and engineering tools.
Define and monitor ongoing reliability testing and monitoring strategies to assess manufacturing process health and identify long-term risks related to process, material, and component variability.
Define and monitor critical hardware and performance field metrics, such as product return rates, and investigate reliability shortcomings.
Oversee production quality activities, including containments, material review board (MRB), defect processing, quality metrics, training, and applicable command media for factory compliance.
Identify manufacturing inefficiencies that affect reliability and drive process improvements to increase first-pass yield, improve quality, reduce scrap, and accelerate issue detection and resolution.
Maintain applicable quality system and ISO 9001 requirements.
Lead root-cause investigations for qualification, production, and field failures; identify immediate and underlying failure mechanisms and drive corrective actions.
Perform telemetry and log analysis and hands-on debugging to determine root cause and corrective action for failed phased-array, Wi-Fi, and power supply PCBAs in the field.
Understand Wi-Fi standards and how the Starlink network operates.