Propulsion Components Design Engineer (Falcon)

SpaceX • Hawthorne, CA

117d • $95,000 - $130,000

About The Position

As a Propulsion Components Engineer, you will be ultimately responsible for the success or failure of the valves, actuators, and other fluid control devices on Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy. This role is a key part of why SpaceX is successful. Component failure means likely loss of vehicle, loss of mission, and possibly loss of life. Success means extending humanity's reach to the moon, Mars, and beyond. Our components control liquid oxygen, RP-1, TEA-TEB, helium, nitrogen; and are critical to enabling every single Falcon mission. We design and build valves, regulators, and actuators for maximum reliability in extreme environments, with temperatures ranging from +900F to -400F and pressures beyond 5,000 Pounds per Square Inch Gauge. Propulsion Components Engineers take full ownership over their hardware: urgently troubleshooting issues at test/launch sites, performing hands-on testing to inform development or root cause investigations, implementing design or test upgrades to improve reliability or reuse, and relentlessly questioning requirements and status quo. The Falcon program is rapidly approaching 30+ flight reuse and is operating at a groundbreaking launch cadence. Components engineers play a key role in the ongoing development and continued success of Falcon. You are fluent in both computer-based engineering work and hands-on hardware assembly and testing.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline
• 1+ years of hands-on hardware experience performing fabrication, assembly, and/or testing (can be in a professional, academic, or entrepreneurial)
• 1+ years of experience with CAD or FEA software packages (can be in a professional, academic, or entrepreneurial)

Nice To Haves

• Demonstrated ability to own hardware or systems within an integrated engineering team outside a classroom setting (FSAE, Engineers without Borders, Design-Build-Fly, NASA student launch, personal entrepreneurial ventures, etc.)
• Experience with and knowledge of mechanisms, fluid control components, and test instrumentation (valves, regulators, actuators, drivetrains, pumps, engines, pressure transducers, thermocouples, resistance temperature detectors, etc.)
• Hands-on experience with pressurized fluid and/or gas handling systems
• Excellent written and communication skills, organized with meticulous attention to detail
• Analytical/scientific programming experience (Python, MATLAB, Excel, etc.)
• Master's degree in an engineering discipline

Responsibilities

• Question status quo and existing requirements, develop solutions to technical problems, enable Falcon reuse and launch cadence
• Plan and execute component flight qualification test plans (e.g. vibration, shock, thermal cycle, life cycle, burst, etc.)
• Lead the charge in troubleshooting and performing root cause investigation of component and flight anomalies
• Identify flight risks, develop mitigations, and implement solutions to ensure mission success
• Design and analyze new fluid components for the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy vehicles
• Generate detailed drawings, specifications, and coordinate component manufacturing with SpaceX internal and external production groups

Benefits

• Pay Range: Propulsion Components Design Engineer/Level I: $95,000.00 - $115,000.00/per year
• Propulsion Components Design Engineer/Level II: $110,000.00 - $130,000.00/per year
• Long-term incentives, in the form of company stock, stock options, 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
• Access to a 401(k) retirement plan
• Short and long-term disability insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid parental leave
• Various other discounts and perks
• 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: Entry Level
• Industry: Transportation Equipment Manufacturing
• Education Level: Bachelor's degree