Operations & Maintenance Manager (Power Plant)

SpaceX•Brownsville, TX

1d•Onsite

About The Position

SpaceX is seeking an experienced Operations and Maintenance Manager to lead the operation, maintenance, and long-term reliability of power generation infrastructure supporting the Starbase supercomputer. The role is responsible for building and leading teams that keep critical power systems online, including gas turbines, generators, mechanical and electrical balance-of-plant, controls, and supporting utilities. This hands-on technical leadership position calls for deep power plant experience, strong engineering judgment, and a proven ability to deliver reliable plant performance. The manager will own plant availability, operational execution, maintenance strategy, and continuous improvement while supporting commissioning, startup, and expansion of power generation capacity. The position requires field leadership, complex technical troubleshooting, and critical decision-making when equipment performance or uptime is at risk.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
At least 5 years of professional experience in power plant operations, maintenance, or engineering, including direct gas turbine or combined-cycle power generation experience.
At least 3 years of experience leading power plant operations and/or maintenance teams.
Demonstrated experience managing plant reliability, equipment maintenance, and operational performance.
Must be able to work onsite at Starbase, Texas.
Must be available for on-call support for critical plant events and to work extended hours or weekends as operational needs require.
Ability to work in industrial environments, including outdoors in heat, cold, and rain, at heights, or in confined spaces when necessary.
Ability to wear required personal protective equipment and safely access operating equipment.
Willingness to travel to vendor facilities or other project sites as needed.
Must meet the stated U.S. citizenship, permanent residency, refugee, asylee, or export-authorization eligibility requirements under ITAR.

Nice To Haves

At least 10 years of professional experience in power plant operations, maintenance, or engineering, including direct gas turbine or combined-cycle power generation experience.
Extensive knowledge of gas turbines, generators, steam turbines, heat recovery steam generators (HRSGs), and mechanical/electrical balance-of-plant systems.
Experience leading operations and maintenance at utility-scale, industrial, or mission-critical power generation facilities.
Strong technical understanding of gas turbine operation, combustion systems, rotating equipment, plant controls, and electrical distribution.
Experience with GE, Siemens Energy, Mitsubishi Power, or comparable industrial turbine systems.
Experience managing OEM long-term service agreements, major maintenance contracts, and outage budgets.
Proficiency with distributed control systems (DCS), SCADA, computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS), and equipment performance monitoring.
Demonstrated experience improving availability, reducing forced outages, and implementing reliability-centered maintenance programs.
Strong understanding of P&IDs, single-line diagrams, operating procedures, and equipment technical documentation.
Experience commissioning new power generation facilities and transitioning equipment into commercial operations.
Familiarity with OSHA, NFPA 70E, environmental permitting requirements, and industrial plant safety practices.
Experience supporting power generation for data centers or other high-availability industrial loads.
Strong communication, technical troubleshooting, and decision-making skills in high-pressure operating environments.

Responsibilities

Build, lead, and develop multidisciplinary operations and maintenance teams, including plant engineers, operators, maintenance technicians, and technical supervisors.
Own the safe, reliable, and efficient operation of gas turbine power generation assets, generators, and associated mechanical, electrical, and controls systems.
Establish and continuously improve plant operating procedures, preventive and predictive maintenance programs, emergency response protocols, and equipment reliability strategies.
Drive plant performance against metrics including availability, forced outage rate, heat rate, maintenance costs, and equipment reliability.
Lead root cause investigations for turbine trips, forced outages, recurring equipment failures, and performance degradation, and implement corrective actions.
Oversee maintenance planning and execution, including turbine inspections, equipment overhauls, and planned outages.
Coordinate with equipment OEMs, EPC contractors, vendors, and engineering teams to resolve technical issues and support long-term equipment performance.
Develop maintenance budgets, staffing plans, spare parts strategies, and long-term service requirements.
Establish a strong safety culture across plant operations, including lockout/tagout, electrical safety, permit-to-work procedures, and environmental compliance.
Lead construction-to-operations turnover, commissioning support, startup readiness, and integration of new power generation assets into operating facilities.
Coordinate with supercomputer infrastructure and electrical engineering teams to ensure generation reliability supports critical compute operations.
Hire, train, mentor, and develop engineers and technicians while establishing clear technical and operational performance expectations.