Supplier Development Engineer, Materials & Metals - Hawthorne CA

Military Spouse Corporate Career Network•Hawthorne, CA

4d•Onsite

About The Position

SpaceX is seeking a Supplier Development Engineer focused on materials and metals to support Starship production. The role serves as the technical owner for materials and metals at suppliers, spanning raw materials, processing, and special processes. The engineer will take hardware from new product development through stable production across metal processing, finishing, welding, heat treatment, inspection, and related processes. The position calls for a strong materials or metallurgy foundation, sound shop-floor judgment, and willingness to take on unfamiliar work as mission needs require.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in materials science and engineering, metallurgy, or metallurgical engineering.
At least 1 year of experience in an R&D, manufacturing, or processing engineering role.
Ability to work extended hours, including some nights and/or weekends when needed.
Ability to travel up to 40–50% of the work week.
Valid driver’s license.

Nice To Haves

Experience with manufacturing, raw materials, special processes, castings, forgings, or sheet metal.
Experience assessing supplier technical capability from an equipment, operations, and personnel perspective.
Knowledge of supplier quality processes such as PPAP, APQP, and FAIR.
Disciplined problem-solving experience, including 8D, Pareto, root cause, corrective action, and PFMEA.
Experience with quality systems such as ISO 9000 and AS9100.
Knowledge of lean concepts and statistical methods, including Minitab, DOE, and Six Sigma.
Ability to communicate clearly with all levels of the organization.
Ability to influence across functions, both internally and at suppliers.

Responsibilities

Serve as the technical point of contact for materials commodities and processes, including raw material, welding, heat treatment, and finishing or coating.
Develop raw-material commodities and related products by selecting manufacturing methods, identifying and vetting suppliers, and establishing processes that can ramp to production rate.
Resolve emergent supplier issues that threaten the manifest, including high-impact materials, processing, manufacturing, and quality problems.
Lead containment of materials and process escapes by scoping risk, aligning a path with engineering and supply chain, and driving issues to closure.
Determine root causes of materials and processing issues and implement fixes at the supplier, at SpaceX, or both.
Create and disposition issue tickets with engineering counterparts, including decisions on rework, repair, or use-as-is.
Drive requirement and drawing changes to reduce defect risk, improve manufacturability, and reduce lead time and cost.
Partner with procurement to identify capable suppliers and assess them for quality.
Review supplier manufacturing processes and quality systems, drive improvements, and own follow-through.
Own supply-chain responses to materials- and process-related defects for assigned commodities.

Benefits

Potential eligibility for long-term incentives in the form of company stock 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.
401(k) retirement plan.
Short- and long-term disability insurance.
Life insurance.
Paid parental leave.
Various other discounts and perks.
Up to 3 weeks of accrued paid vacation.
10 or more paid holidays per year.
Paid sick leave pursuant to Company policy.