Structural Engineer, Starship Tower

SpaceX•Cape Canaveral, FL

22h•Onsite

About The Position

The Structural Engineer on the Starship Tower team owns the structural integrity of tower and launch-mount structures from concept through fabrication, erection, activation, and launch operations. The role covers structural design and analysis of primary and secondary steel, connections, anchorage, and foundation interfaces, as well as drawings, calculations, specifications, and reports. The engineer leads consulting engineers, fabricators, and construction contractors through engineering, procurement, fabrication, construction, and commissioning, while collaborating with mechanical, mechanisms, fluids, analysis, and vehicle teams to meet design, manufacturing, and integration requirements. This is a field-facing position based onsite at Cape Canaveral, working in the structure to resolve design and construction conflicts alongside skilled labor partners. The engineer serves as a technical advisor and may act as a de facto supervisor. The work supports a tower designed to withstand launch acoustic, thermal, and blast conditions, catch returning boosters, and enable rapid turnaround between launches.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in civil engineering, structural engineering, mechanical engineering, or another engineering discipline.
At least 1 year of experience in structural design, analysis, construction, or drafting; internship, co-op, and competition team experience qualify.
Ability to pass an Air Force background check for Cape Canaveral.
Ability to work at heights up to 500 feet and perform duties involving standing, kneeling, crouching, twisting, working in cramped positions and small openings, and climbing hand over hand.
Ability to work in tight quarters requiring physical dexterity and in extreme outdoor conditions, including heat, cold, and rain, as well as environments with fumes, odors, and noise.
Flexibility to work a schedule that varies with site operational needs and to travel to other SpaceX sites less than 25% of the time.
Must meet applicable U.S. Government 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

At least 3 years of professional experience in structural design and analysis of steel structures, such as industrial, heavy civil, offshore, naval, crane and lifting, or aerospace ground support structures.
Experience with design, fabrication, and construction of large steel structures.
Knowledge of AISC steel manual, ACI 318, ASCE 7, IBC, and AWS D1.1 Structural Welding Code.
Experience designing bolted and welded connections, evaluating fatigue in welded steel structures, and designing for dynamic, transient, and thermal loading.
Experience with SAP 2000, STAAD Pro, RISA-3D, ETABS, or similar structural analysis software.
Experience with FEA software such as ANSYS, Abaqus, or Nastran for detailed stress, fatigue, and dynamic analysis.
Experience creating structural detail drawings in AutoCAD, Revit, Siemens NX, SolidWorks, or similar programs; Siemens NX and Teamcenter PLM experience is noted.
Experience with lifting, rigging, and erection engineering for heavy steel structures, including ASME BTH-1, crane lift planning, and temporary works.
Experience with welding processes, weld inspection, and NDE methods such as visual, magnetic particle, ultrasonic, and radiographic inspection.
Experience managing major construction projects, including estimating, cost control, scheduling, and contractor management.
Experience in at least three project delivery phases: conceptual layout and high-level trade studies; detailed engineering design and development; requests for proposals or quotes and contract issue; supervision of fabrication and construction to completion; or punch lists, commissioning, and close-out.
Understanding of other disciplines, including mechanical, fluids and piping, electrical, geotechnical, and surveying.
Demonstrated quick thinking and tangible problem-solving skills.
Demonstrated ability to foster extremely high personal accountability and responsibility.
Strong ability to use data and analysis to make fast, data-driven decisions.
Professional Engineer (PE) or Structural Engineer (SE) license.
Strong interpersonal, organizational, and communication skills.

Responsibilities

Own structural design and analysis for tower and launch-mount primary and secondary steel, including members, bolted and welded connections, anchorage, and foundation interfaces across static, dynamic, thermal, and fatigue load cases.
Perform calculations for structural steel and reinforced concrete design, and develop and issue drawings, design documentation, specifications, and reports.
Develop load cases and structural design criteria with analysis, mechanisms, fluids, and vehicle teams; translate operational and vehicle requirements into structural requirements and verify designs against them.
Lead the project team, consulting engineers, fabricators, and contractors through structural engineering, procurement, fabrication, construction, and commissioning.
Write and manage fabrication and construction subcontractor contracts through close-out; own scope budget and schedule within a multidisciplinary team.
Develop and review erection, lifting, and rigging engineering for large steel assemblies, including temporary works, lift plans, and structural stability throughout construction.
Specify weld joint design, inspection, and non-destructive examination requirements; work with welding and quality teams to resolve fabrication and assembly discrepancies and disposition nonconformances.
Manage field construction and integration, including quality control, fit-up and tolerance resolution, and coordination of multidisciplinary contractor teams.
Conduct onsite engineering inspections and field observations, resolving design and construction conflicts in real time.
Drive design-for-manufacturability and constructability changes that reduce build time, cost, and risk for current and future towers.
Lead post-launch structural inspections, damage assessments, repairs, and modifications needed to turn the pad around between launches.
Lead and participate in design reviews with internal teams, suppliers, contractors, and consulting engineers.
Document design standards, processes, and lessons learned, and drive continual improvement for future builds.