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.
STRUCTURES ENGINEER (STARSHIP)
The Starship Structures team is responsible for the airframe of the Starship vehicle. You will develop the airframe from the structural concept through detailed design and ultimately through structural testing and build. The team works on all airframe elements: the section that supports the engines, the spacecraft’s propellant tanks, and the payload bay.
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:
- Experience and passion for creating, tinkering, taking things apart, and building them again
- Ability to communicate mission-critical messaging effectively, explain complex topics succinctly, and ask questions to verify or defend technical rational
- Demonstrated experience driving and delivering significant outcomes
- Proven application of passion and curiosity to learn, build, and complete impactful projects.
- Experience transitioning products from design to manufacturing and optimizing for high-volume
- Proven experience designing metallic structures, ideally stainless-steel
- Ability to make informed executive decisions
- Experience leading or working on an engineering competition team, i.e. Formula SAE, Baja SAE, RoboSub, Combat Robotics or similar
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
- Must be available to work extended hours and weekends as needed
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:
Pay range:
Structures Engineer/Level I: $95,000.00 - $115,000.00/per year
Structures 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.
Top Skills
What We Do
SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches the world’s most advanced rockets and spacecraft. The company was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk to revolutionize space transportation, with the ultimate goal of making life multiplanetary.
SpaceX has gained worldwide attention for a series of historic milestones. It is the only private company ever to return a spacecraft from low-Earth orbit, which it first accomplished in December 2010. The company made history again in May 2012 when its Dragon spacecraft attached to the International Space Station, exchanged cargo payloads, and returned safely to Earth — a technically challenging feat previously accomplished only by governments. Since then Dragon has delivered cargo to and from the space station multiple times, providing regular cargo resupply missions for NASA.
