Recovery Engineer (Starship Range Ops)

SpaceX•Starbase, TX, TX

About The Position

As a Recovery Operations Engineer, you will focus on range management and mission readiness for vehicle recovery. You will develop standard operating procedures for vehicle recovery and processing, build partnerships with airspace and maritime regulatory agencies, write test plans and procedures to improve recovery efficiency, and take ownership of safely and successfully recovering Super Heavy boosters and Starships.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in mechanical, aerospace, naval, marine, electrical, operations, or systems engineering.
At least 1 year of experience building, maintaining, and modifying mechanical or electrical hardware.
Ability to support offshore operations and work offshore for extended periods without access to emergency services normally available on shore.
Ability to climb ladders, work at height, and work in tight or confined spaces.
Ability to pass an Air Force background check for Cape Canaveral.
Physical dexterity to build hardware in tight quarters.
Willingness to work with hazardous materials.
Ability to stand, kneel, crouch, twist the upper body, work in cramped positions and small openings, climb hand over hand, and lift 25 lbs.
Willingness to work in extreme outdoor environments, including heat, cold, rain, wind, and open ocean.
Flexibility to work hours that vary according to site operational needs.
Willingness to travel.
Ability to operate heavy machinery.
Ability to pass offshore physical fitness testing if required.
Subject to pre-employment drug and random drug and alcohol testing.
Must meet U.S. export-control eligibility requirements: be a U.S. citizen or national, lawful permanent resident, refugee, or asylee, or be eligible to obtain required U.S. Department of State authorizations.

Nice To Haves

Ability to read, understand, and apply technical drawings, data reports, mechanical and electrical schematics, and design specifications.
High degree of personal autonomy and self-driven motivation.
Ability to thrive with ambiguous requirements and aggressive timelines.
Experience troubleshooting and maintaining mechanical or electrical systems and associated control hardware.
Experience operating, troubleshooting, and maintaining large, complex mechanical or electrical systems.
Testing experience, including setting test objectives, writing test plans, and conducting hands-on tests.
Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work effectively in a team, accomplishing tasks with limited resources at a rapid pace.
Demonstrated history of working efficiently with hazardous systems, including high-pressure, high-voltage, cryogenic, toxic, flammable, hypergolic, or pyrophoric systems.
Demonstrated experience in root cause and failure analysis.
Experience working with and building hardware in offshore or marine environments.
Experience interfacing with government and regulatory bodies.
Experience drafting and reviewing legal agreements and processes.
Experience operating and troubleshooting remote-operated ground control systems.
Experience with critical operations where real-time decision-making affected success criteria.
Experience in launch, aviation, or maritime operational environments.
Ability to work in an integrated collaborative team with daily interactions with technicians, engineers, and managers.
Ability to prioritize and execute tasks in a high-pressure environment.
Self-motivated and directed, with keen attention to detail.
Ongoing drive for continuous improvement.
Detail-oriented, organized, and able to demonstrate a high sense of urgency.

Responsibilities

Perform engineering duties for SpaceX’s Starship Range and Recovery efforts.
Lead engineers and technicians performing offshore Starship Recovery operations.
Troubleshoot, upgrade, and maintain hardware deployed on terrestrial, maritime, meteorological, and air assets, including mechanical, electrical, and control systems.
Provide on-console engineering support during launch and major ground test and launch operations.
Identify operational improvements and work with design teams to develop and implement solutions for range and recovery efforts.
Develop work instructions for ongoing operations, maintenance, repairs, upgrades, and vendor contracts.
Provide program information and interface with external parties and programs, including the FAA and USCG, to ensure compliance and alignment with Starship program goals.
Serve as the final authority for ensuring operations are conducted safely.
Perform other related duties to support an efficient and effective work environment.
Use AI tools to develop and deploy program and process efficiencies for the team.
Serve as a recovery and range controller for launch and re-entry operations.