Sr. Mechanical Engineer, Flight Termination System (Starship)

SpaceX • Hawthorne, CA

2h • $135,000 - $215,000

About The Position

As a member of SpaceX’s Flight Termination System team, the Mechanical Engineer is responsible for designing Starship Flight Termination System hardware and explosives. The role owns the development process from concept through hardware delivery, including design, analysis, production facility layout, electromechanical and live ordnance assembly, environmental testing, and vehicle integration. It also involves working with regulatory partners to implement, tailor, and challenge space-industry requirements. The work supports an aggressive development schedule and safety-critical vehicle systems, requiring rigorous engineering at the intersection of hardware safety and high explosives.

The engineer develops and qualifies hardware for Starship and Super Heavy, partners with manufacturing and other teams to improve production rate, yield, and cost, and supports investigations and corrective actions across development, production, test, integration, and launch. The position also collaborates with stage, avionics, and flight-safety teams on vehicle-level architecture.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline.
• At least 5 years of experience in mechanical design and/or hands-on manufacturing.
• Willingness to handle and test high-explosive devices.
• Willingness and ability to obtain ATF explosives clearance.
• Willingness to travel less than 25%.

Nice To Haves

• Strong interpersonal and collaborative skills, enthusiasm for problem solving, and desire to optimize modern rocket production and launch processes.
• At least 5 years of experience designing and analyzing mechanical systems through professional work, student projects or research, or a combination.
• Experience with LSDYNA/ANSYS, BlastX, CHEETA, and/or Hydrocode.
• A master's degree or at least 5 years of professional experience in mechanical or aerospace engineering.
• Experience designing, building, testing, and troubleshooting mechanical systems.
• Strong project management skills and ability to communicate technical concepts across multidisciplinary teams.
• Hands-on experience with high voltage, electronics, or explosives.
• Leadership experience on a project or research team.
• Experience using test instrumentation and control components, such as pressure transducers, thermocouples, resistance temperature detectors, relays, and solenoid valves.
• Knowledge of electromechanical devices, actuators, motors, or explosives.
• Understanding of fundamental principles of explosives, solid mechanics, and dynamics.

Responsibilities

• Develop manufacturable explosive devices and robust hardware integration designs, including system controllers, electronic safe-and-arm devices, destruct charges, and integrated detonators for the Starship and Super Heavy Flight Termination System.
• Question requirements, remove unnecessary parts and processes, simplify and optimize designs, accelerate deliveries, and automate component delivery processes.
• Validate hardware reliability through shock, vibration, thermal cycling, climatic, and live-fire testing; design experiments, develop fixturing, and prepare technical reports.
• Partner with manufacturing, production, testing, and supply chain to increase component build rate, factory yield, and production volume while reducing cost; support delivery of components for more than one fully stacked launch vehicle per month.
• Generate and maintain detailed drawings, component specifications, analyses, and risk assessments.
• Lead root-cause investigations arising during development, production, testing, integration, and launch, and implement corrective actions to prevent repeat failures.
• Set standards for reliable component design and qualification testing under strict regulatory requirements.
• Achieve zero in-flight anomalies of flight termination system components while reducing component-caused production and launch delays and minimizing containments.
• Act as chief engineer in collaboration with stage, avionics, and flight-safety teams to develop simple vehicle solutions and inform system-level architecture, considering component capabilities and vulnerabilities.

Benefits

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

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level