Principal Mechanical Engineer (Starship)

SpaceX • Hawthorne, CA

5h

About The Position

The Starship Mechanical Engineer will support the development of SpaceX's Starship, a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline.
• 7+ years of experience with mechanical, electromechanical, or fluid system design and analysis.

Nice To Haves

• 7+ years of technical project leadership.
• 7+ years of professional experience in mechanical design and analysis.
• Demonstrated strength in technical communication, articulating design decisions, and technical mentorship.
• Strong demonstrated capability in design, CAD and FEA.
• Hands-on experience with mechanism design, prototyping, and precision mechanical assembly.
• Experience with design for high volume production with a focus on design for manufacturability.
• Knowledge of and experience in selecting materials, manufacturing methods, and surface treatments for mechanical components.
• Solid understanding and application of GD&T.
• Demonstrated understanding of structural analysis and failure modes of complex mechanical systems.
• Proficiency in one or more programming languages.

Responsibilities

• Own complex mechanical systems on Starship through their entire design cycle:
• Drive conceptual design, architecture trades, and first order sizing. Develop design criteria where definition is lacking.
• Balance operational needs across vehicle systems while optimizing for development speed, mass, and cost.
• Perform in depth first principles analysis and FEA to assess and optimize designs.
• Incorporate design for manufacturing principles and supervise first article builds.
• Design and execute qualification testing.
• Coordinate multi-disciplinary teams working on system level vehicle design trades.
• Lead multidisciplinary root cause investigations and component redesigns to improve reliability and/or production rate.
• Extreme ownership of product outcomes for spaceflight hardware.

Benefits

• You may also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the form of company stock, stock options, or long-term cash awards, as well as potential discretionary bonuses and the ability to purchase additional stock at a discount through an Employee Stock Purchase Plan.
• You will also receive access to comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, short and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, paid parental leave, and various other discounts and perks.
• You may also accrue 3 weeks of paid vacation and will be eligible for 10 or more paid holidays per year.
• Employees accrue paid sick leave pursuant to Company policy which satisfies or exceeds the accrual, carryover, and use requirements of the law.

What This Job Offers

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