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, FLIGHT SAFETY (STARSHIP AVIONICS)

The Starship Development Engineering Team designs the flight safety hardware systems for the Starship vehicle. Our team works across disciplinary boundaries to integrate high reliability electronics, ordnance, and systems operations to create a high reliability safety system. We work tightly with build and flight operations in a fast-paced environment.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Act as responsible engineer for Starship Flight Termination System (FTS) development, hardware design, qualification, and launch of vehicles
• Define detailed system design, including system interconnect schematics, consumable budgets, harness and channel capabilities, fault tolerance, reliability, hardware manifest, vehicle risk, and configuration change management
• Work collaboratively with customers and experts from other teams to perform system trades, define vehicle architecture, and scope new designs as they move from concept, through prototype, and into production
• Ensure that the as-built Flight Termination System meets design intent and regulatory requirements
• Interface with internal operations teams, internal flight reliability teams, and external regulatory partners such as the FAA. Responsible for assessing and communicating to SpaceX internal teams and regulatory partners that FTS is ready for flight.
• Generate and submit flight safety system certification deliverables

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical, mechanical, aerospace or computer engineering, or physics
• 1+ years of hardware development experience in electronic or mechanical systems (significant academic projects, internships, and traditional professional experience all qualify)

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Experience with system design and testing for hardware sub-systems such as RF, power, communications, human interface, and sensors
• Experience designing and certifying flight safety systems for launch vehicles
• Experience with system trades and first-hand knowledge of how requirements tie hardware to larger systems
• Self-starter with experience making hardware work within demanding time and resource constraints
• Experience with wire harness design and build, including associated sub-components
• Experience with NX or similar CAD design software
• Familiarity with electrical test equipment (multimeters, oscilloscopes, power supplies, etc.), and basic analysis techniques
• Experience writing engineering software for test automation, data review, and design analysis, preferably in MATLAB or Python
• Demonstrated project management skills and ability to collaborate with other engineering disciplines

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Extended hours and weekend work may be required to support critical project and mission milestones

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:

Pay Range:
Flight Reliability Engineer/Level I: $95,000.00 - $115,000.00/per year
Flight Reliability Engineer/Level II: $110,000.00 - $130,000.00/per year

Your actual level and base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills, education, and experience.

Base salary is just one part of your total rewards package at SpaceX. You may also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the form of company stock, stock options, or long-term cash awards, as well as potential discretionary bonuses and the ability to purchase additional stock at a discount through an Employee Stock Purchase Plan. You will also receive access to comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, short and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, paid parental leave, and various other discounts and perks. You may also accrue 3 weeks of paid vacation and will be eligible for 10 or more paid holidays per year. Exempt employees are eligible for 5 days of sick leave per year.

ITAR REQUIREMENTS:

• To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. 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 notify the Human Resources Department at (310) 363-6000.