Automation & Controls Specialist (Starship) - Night Shift

SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES CORP; Town of Florida (NY); On-site; USD 95,000 - 155,000; Full time

Job summary

SpaceX is seeking an Automation & Controls Specialist (Starship) for night shift at Cape Canaveral, FL. You will design and activate electrical and control systems across our launch facility and work with a team of engineers on Starship hardware integration and testing.

The role requires hands-on experience with electrical panels, NFPA/UL codes, PLCs (Siemens TIA Portal), and industrial networks. Expect travel to launch sites and flexibility for night hours.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalency certificate.
• 3+ years of experience in a controls technician, controls specialist, or engineering role.
• Bachelor’s degree in an engineering or technology field.
• Occupational trade school qualification in an instrumentation or electrical-based field
• Knowledge of NFPA 70, NFPA 70E, NFPA 79 & UL508A codes.
• Excellent communication skills—both written and verbal.
• Ability to thrive in ambiguity, independently drive project progress, and manage multiple priorities.
• Proven ability to author detailed manufacturing planning work orders in strict compliance with guidelines and procedures.
• Fundamental understanding of engineering principles behind electronic equipment, instrumentation, and commonly used industrial equipment.
• Experience designing and installing instrumentation and control systems in hazardous areas (NFPA 70 Section 500 installations); Class 1, Division 1 and Division 2 environments or IEC equivalence.
• Electrical schematic CAD experience using EPlan.
• PLC programming experience, preferably Siemens TIA Portal.
• First‑hand experience with programming and software development.
• Experience with industrial bus protocols such as Modbus, Profinet and EtherNet/IP.
• Process integration and electromechanical/mechatronic systems experience.
• Able to collaborate with a wide range of people and effectively work in a team in a high‑pressure, dynamic environment.

Responsibilities

• Provide innovative solutions to special requirements and challenges faced by the team, which can range from integrating specialized equipment to challenging operating environment, packaging or loading.
• Execute the integration and activation testing of new equipment.
• Manage electrical cabinet builds, field wiring, pneumatic, and fluid plumbing.
• Experience with authoring detailed manufacturing planning work orders.
• Provide hands‑on troubleshooting support for a variety of active and critical ground support equipment tooling.
• Write robust and scalable procedures to activate technicians to quickly and reliably build and commission control systems.
• Lay out new industrial electrical control panels that are NFPA79/NEC/UL508A compliant and create electrical, pneumatic, and fluid schematics.
• Participate in the design and development of new and existing control systems critical to the launch organization.
• Architect, write, and debug PLC code, emphasizing generating organized, structured, documented, maintainable, and reusable code for manufacturing applications.

Skills

Controls engineering

PLC programming

Industrial networking

Electrical schematics

Troubleshooting

Manufacturing planning

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering/technology

Trade school qualification in instrumentation/electrical

High school diploma or equivalent

Tools

EPlan CAD

CAD software

Job description

Automation & Controls Specialist (Starship) - Night Shift

Cape Canaveral, FL

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.

AUTOMATION & CONTROLS SPECIALIST (STARSHIP) - Night Shift

SpaceX's Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket (collectively referred to as Starship) represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Starship will be the world's most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, with the ability to carry in excess of 100 metric tons to Earth orbit.

The Launch Hardware Automation & Controls Specialist role will be hands‑on in designing and activating the systems that build and launch Starship. The successful applicant will work as part of a team of elite engineers designing and improving the electrical and control systems across our rocket launch facility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Base.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Provide innovative solutions to special requirements and challenges faced by the team, which can range from integrating specialized equipment to challenging operating environment, packaging or loading.


• Execute the integration and activation testing of new equipment.


• Manage electrical cabinet builds, field wiring, pneumatic, and fluid plumbing.


• Experience with authoring detailed manufacturing planning work orders.


• Provide hands‑on troubleshooting support for a variety of active and critical ground support equipment tooling.


• Write robust and scalable procedures to activate technicians to quickly and reliably build and commission control systems.


• Lay out new industrial electrical control panels that are NFPA79/NEC/UL508A compliant and create electrical, pneumatic, and fluid schematics.


• Participate in the design and development of new and existing control systems critical to the launch organization.


• Architect, write, and debug PLC code, emphasizing generating organized, structured, documented, maintainable, and reusable code for manufacturing applications.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• High school diploma or equivalency certificate.


• 3+ years of experience in a controls technician, controls specialist, or engineering role.

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Bachelor’s degree in an engineering or technology field.


• Occupational trade school qualification in an instrumentation or electrical-based field


• Knowledge of NFPA 70 (National Electrical Code), NFPA 70E (Standard for Electrical Safety), NFPA 79 & UL508A codes.


• Excellent communication skills—both written and verbal.


• Ability to thrive in ambiguity, independently drive project progress, and manage multiple priorities.


• Proven ability to author detailed manufacturing planning work orders in strict compliance with guidelines and procedures.


• Fundamental understanding of engineering principles behind electronic equipment, instrumentation, and commonly used industrial equipment.


• Experience designing and installing instrumentation and control systems in hazardous areas (NFPA 70 Section 500 installations); Class 1, Division 1 and Division 2 environments or IEC equivalence.


• Electrical schematic CAD experience using EPlan.


• PLC programming experience, preferably Siemens TIA Portal.


• First‑hand experience with programming and software development.


• Experience with industrial bus protocols such as Modbus, Profinet and EtherNet/IP.


• Process integration and electromechanical/mechatronic systems experience.


• Able to collaborate with a wide range of people and effectively work in a team in a high‑pressure, dynamic environment.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Must be willing to work weekends and night shifts as needed.
  
  
  • 2nd shift: 6pm‑6am, 4 days a week
  
  
  
  


• Must be willing to travel to other launch sites in support of operational activities and launches; travel requirement is up to 15%.


• Ability to pass Air Force background check for Cape Canaveral.


• Lifting, standing, climbing, bending, grasping, sitting, pulling, pushing, stooping, stretching, and carrying are generally required to perform the functions of this position.


• 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 reach out [e-mail] .

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As set forth in SpaceX’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A \"disabled veteran\" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service‑connected disability.

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