Mechanical Engineer (Starship Structures)

SpaceX was founded under the belief that a future where humanity is out exploring the stars is fundamentally more exciting than one where we are not. Today SpaceX is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal of enabling human life on Mars.

MECHANICAL ENGINEER (STARSHIP STRUCTURES))

Our elite Starbase team is working on our planet's toughest and most audacious project: making humanity multi-planetary. The mechanical engineer is responsible for designing and building flight hardware such as primary structures, propellant tanks, integration interfaces, and structural subassemblies. You will be empowered to make real-time decisions, solve complex problems on the fly, and own end-to-end processes. The role will require the readiness to develop subject matter expertise in design for manufacturability, specifically those related to sheet metal and subassembly design and fabrication. If you are ready to be a hardware owner, eager to get out from behind a desk, and be hands-on working alongside a world-class production team, this may be the right role for you.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Develop design concepts from a clean sheet and size vehicle structures based on flight loads
• Collaborate with peers from different vehicle systems to develop designs that balance mass, cost, and capability
• Create detailed designs to implement structural concepts and generate CAD models in NX for components, assemblies, and vehicle integration
• Build finite element models to assess your designs in detail and analyze your structures to prove they meet the needs of the vehicle
• Apply first-order hand calculations and empirical formulas to assess and iterate on your designs rapidly
• Validate your designs by building development articles to test individual joints and design elements for strength
• Perform structural testing on subassemblies and full sections of the airframe
• Partner with build engineers and technicians to improve your designs
• Support the assembly of your hardware in the factory, witness your designs being brought to life daily, and watch them take flight and make history

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering
• 1+ years of engineering experience designing, analyzing, or building structures (internship and school projects experience qualify)

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Strong ability to use data and analysis to make fast data-driven decisions
• Strong understanding of engineering fundamentals
• Ability to perform trade studies and make clear recommendations using first principles and engineering fundamentals even with partial information
• Experience working at a nimble engineering organization or in a highly technical position that required a scrappy, entrepreneurial manner to accomplish tasks with tight time or budget constraints
• Experience building hardware or have a passion for contributing to a work product that operates in the real world
• Demonstrated rapid growth; you've held successive positions of increasing responsibility within an organization, were able to get yourself up to speed at a heroic pace, and accomplished something meaningfully difficult early in your career
• You've demonstrated resilience and the ability to overcome failure or extreme odds. Many critics would say that our goals are impossible but this isn't the first time we've proven that highly improbable goals like reusable rockets can become possible
• Experience leading or working on an engineering competition team, i.e. Formula SAE, Baja SAE, RoboSub, Combat Robotics or similar

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Position will be based in Starbase, Texas (Brownsville/South Padre Island area) and will require relocation if not already local
• Stand: Up to 3 hours per day
• Sit: Up to 6 hours per day
• Push/Pull: Up to 50lbs. (unassisted) Up to 15 minutes per day
• Overhead reach: Up to 3 hours per day
• Walk: Up to 3 hours per day
• Lift/Carry: Up to 25lbs. (unassisted) Up to 15 minutes per day
• Climb (ladder/stairs): Up to 1 hour per day
• Kneel/Crouch: N/A
• Upper body twist: N/A
• Ability to work in temperatures over 80 degrees: up to 30 minutes per day
• Candidate must be capable of safely working at heights (up to 500ft), in confined spaces, using an air purifying respirator, and performing the physical requirements of the job listed in the job description
• Candidate may be required to complete a pre-employment questionnaire and/or physical to confirm these capabilities, which may include a medical history review

ITAR REQUIREMENTS:
Learn more about the ITAR here. SpaceX is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with SpaceX is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

Applicants wishing to view a copy of SpaceX's Affirmative Action Plan for veterans and individuals with disabilities, or applicants requiring reasonable accommodation to the application/interview process should reach out to