Manager, Operations Training (Starlink)

Space Exploration Technologies•Bastrop, TX

58d•Onsite

About The Position

The Operations Training Manager is responsible for equipping Starlink employees with the skills and knowledge needed to meet aggressive build, test, and delivery targets with increasing reliability and efficiency. This leader will oversee a multidisciplinary team of training engineers, specialists, and trainers to deliver onboarding, new capability development, and performance-based training solutions. This role bridges workforce readiness with operational excellence by embedding training systems directly into production and leveraging data-driven prioritization of training informed by those root-cause insights.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree or 8+ years of experience in training development and/or leadership positions.
4+ years of experience in a high-rate manufacturing or engineering environment
2+ years of experience leading production, training, or operations teams

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree with a concentration in an engineering, business, supply chain, management, or educational discipline.
Experience developing and delivering training in regulated environments (e.g., AS9100, ISO9001)
Strong understanding of industrial engineering, manufacturing systems, or operations research
Proficiency with learning management systems (LMS), training content development tools, and data visualization platforms (Tableau, Power BI)
Experience translating manufacturing or workmanship performance data into training action plans
Demonstrated success onboarding large technical teams and improving productivity through training
Excellent executive communication, stakeholder alignment, and program management skills
Hands-on familiarity with manufacturing or flight hardware environments
Experience implementing change management and configuration control in training contexts

Responsibilities

Training Program Development & Execution:
Lead the development and continuous improvement of onboarding and job qualification programs to ensure associates, technicians, and leaders are productive, compliant, and competent
Drive risk-based prioritization of training initiatives linked to safety, quality, and throughput drivers
Develop and maintain training content in collaboration with engineering, production, and quality SMEs
Establish and execute remedial training programs tied to workmanship trends, audit findings, and defect root cause data
Deploy a mix of instructor-led, on-the-job, and virtual learning programs using internal tools and LMS platforms
Operational Integration:
Serve as the operational owner of workforce readiness metrics tied to daily, weekly, and campaign-level production milestones
Align training resources, curricula, and cycles to the shifting demands of high-rate production, test, and development operations
Partner with operations engineers, production leaders, and HR to integrate training planning into hiring, crew structures, takt planning, and rework reduction strategies
Leadership & Strategic Planning:
Build, coach, and lead a team of technical trainers, instructional designers, training specialists, and training engineers to drive talent development, performance feedback, and leadership growth within the team
Define long-range workforce development strategies that align with production ramp goals and capability evolution
Build executive-level dashboards and KPIs linking training effectiveness to safety, quality, and performance indicators
Own the organizational knowledge base for associate and technician best practices and process-specific know-how
Analytics & Decision Support:
Apply operational and statistical analysis to training outcomes using production and quality data, identifying predictive indicators of training needs
Develop models to prioritize training interventions based on throughput impact, cost of nonconformance, and technician development velocity
Build and manage dashboards to enable proactive, data-driven training actions
Outreach & Educational Partnerships:
Partner with SpaceX recruiting and community engagement teams to build strong, mutually beneficial relationships with local community colleges, trade schools, and universities
Support the development of pipeline programs that feed skilled technicians and engineering talent into Starlink operations, including apprenticeships, co-ops, and curriculum alignment initiatives
Collaborate with academic institutions to align vocational and technical training with SpaceX's operational requirements and emerging workforce needs
Represent SpaceX at career fairs, advisory boards, and educational consortiums to promote awareness of technical career paths at Starlink
Facilitate instructor site visits, student tours, and hands-on training collaborations that strengthen long-term talent pipelines