Propulsion Engineer (Falcon Flight Operations)

SpaceX•Hawthorne, CA

About The Position

The Falcon Flight Operations team is dedicated to delivering Falcon and its payloads to orbit rapidly and reliably. The Propulsion Engineers on this team are responsible for ensuring flightworthiness of Falcon propulsion hardware and software over the life cycle of the vehicle, from initial build, through acceptance testing, and into flight (and re-flight) operations. Additionally, Propulsion Engineers are responsible for driving reliability-improving and rate-enabling initiatives to maintain the long-term success of Falcon as the most-flown, most-reliable launch vehicle in existence. Falcon hardware within the scope of this role consists of M1D engines, MVacD engines, and Stage 1 and Stage 2 systems (propellant measurement, management, and feed systems, tank pressurization systems, attitude control systems, pneumatic systems, hydraulic systems, primary and secondary structures, and thermal protection systems).

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline
1+ years of experience working with engines or fluid systems

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in mechanical engineering or aeronautical/astronautical engineering
Analytical/scientific programming experience
Experience in collaborative coding within version-controlled repositories (e.g., Git)
Experience with Python
Strong foundation in fluid mechanics (compressible and incompressible), thermodynamics, combustion, structures/fracture mechanics, and materials
Familiarity with liquid propellant rocket engine cycles, launch vehicle fluid systems, and components
Excellent communication skills (both written and verbal) and ability to succinctly present recommendations to stakeholders, customers, and management
Hands-on hardware experience performing fabrication, assembly, and/or testing (can be in a professional, academic, entrepreneurial, or hobby setting)
Experience testing liquid propellant rockets and/or working with pneumatic systems, hydraulic systems, cryogenic propellants, pressure control devices, valves, tubes/pipes, diffusers, and fittings
Experience with pad, launch, or flight operations for an integrated vehicle
Demonstrated track record of success in a rapidly growing, changing, and highly technical environment — ability to act and execute in a scrappy, entrepreneurial manner against tight timelines
Profound sense of personal ownership and extreme accountability
Ability to think clearly and communicate concisely in high-pressure, time-critical situations
Strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills, exceptional attention to detail
Great attitude in the face of extreme challenges

Responsibilities

Develop a comprehensive understanding of the Falcon propulsion systems
Make critical decisions for the processing of Merlin and Stage Propulsion hardware during build, test, integration, and flight to ensure 100% mission success
Define, implement, and validate acceptance and operational requirements to promote reliability, rapid reusability, and streamlined processing of Falcon rockets
Take on primary responsibility for the success of Merlin engines or Stage Propulsion hardware for a given test or launch campaign
Support test and launch operations across all SpaceX facilities, including live on-console support from mission control
Perform post-test and post-flight data reviews, and provide technical recommendations to the Vehicle Maintenance team to enable rapid, reliable reuse of hardware
Solve undefined and multi-disciplinary problems, interfacing with engineering and technician teams from all disciplines across SpaceX (e.g., production, test, launch, avionics, structures, guidance, navigation & control, thermal and fluid analysis, flight and ground software, mission management, flight reliability, etc.)
Work closely with commercial and government customers to drive down technical debt, mitigate flight risks, and ensure maximum hardware and software reliability
Lead propulsion anomaly investigations and drive these investigations to resolution
Develop new automation capabilities to enable extreme launch cadence – leverage coding for rapid test and flight data analysis, flight software verification, and other engineering processes, and eliminate recurring work
Optimize recurring test and mission tasks to enable an increasingly demanding launch manifest