Manufacturing Engineer, Machining (Starship)

SpaceX•Hawthorne, CA

About The Position

SpaceX is developing technologies to enable human life on Mars and expand humanity’s reach beyond Earth and the Moon. The Manufacturing Engineer will own the relationship between engineering and production teams, provide input into the design and development of new and existing hardware, and lead manufacturing and integration within production for current and next-generation vehicles. This role develops in-house machining capability for Starship components and delivers high-quality precision parts to factory assembly areas.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline or physics.
At least 1 year of machine-shop experience.
Available to work long hours and weekends as needed.
Comfortable stooping, bending, and standing.
Able to lift or carry up to 25 pounds unassisted for 1–2 hours per day.
Meet U.S. Government export-control eligibility requirements: be a U.S. citizen or national, lawful permanent resident, refugee, or asylee, or be eligible to obtain required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree.
Experience setting up and operating state-of-the-art machining equipment.
Knowledge of standard machine-shop manufacturing processes and setups.
Experience operating CNCs, conventional lathes and mills, and other machine-shop equipment used to manufacture high-precision parts.
Demonstrated proficiency in CNC programming for lathes and mills.
Knowledge of GD&T and inspection procedures.
Extensive experience with precision conventional and advanced metrology systems, including photogrammetry, CMMs, and 3D imaging.

Responsibilities

Develop in-house machining capability for the Starship components team and deliver high-quality precision piece parts to factory assembly areas.
Analyze piece parts and assemblies for design for manufacturing (DFM), ensuring they are optimized for manufacturing, assembly, and testing.
Maintain close feedback loops with downstream operations to ensure product success and implement rapid iterations.
Review quality concerns from piece-part inspection and approve out-of-tolerance conditions after investigating the part’s use case, assembly, and testing.
Identify, recommend, procure, and install machine-shop equipment; ensure equipment is maintained and calibrated.
Lead cost optimization and cost-reduction initiatives related to fabrication and processes.
Develop, evaluate, and improve manufacturing and fabrication methodologies and techniques.
Recommend and implement improvements or modifications to operation sequences and equipment utilization.
Collaborate with other SpaceX machine-shop facilities to share capabilities and address capacity and scheduling issues.

Benefits

Potential eligibility for long-term incentives in the form of company stock or long-term cash awards.
Potential discretionary bonuses.
Employee Stock Purchase Plan with the ability to purchase additional stock at a discount.
Comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage.
401(k) retirement plan.
Short- and long-term disability insurance.
Life insurance.
Paid parental leave.
Various other discounts and perks.
May accrue 3 weeks of paid vacation.
Eligible for 10 or more paid holidays per year.
Paid sick leave pursuant to company policy.