External Fleet Manager (Starbase)

Starlink; Texas; On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

SpaceX is seeking an External Fleet Manager to govern contract and compliance with suppliers, construction contractors, and service providers supporting Starship production and site operations. You will manage from scope and terms to closeout, ensure SLA enforcement, and coordinate with cross-functional teams to maintain compliant performance.

Responsibilities include writing statements of work, setting acceptance criteria, negotiating terms, tracking SLAs, and leading audits and corrective

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or 5+ years of experience in contracts, procurement, supplier management, export compliance, or regulatory compliance in manufacturing, construction, aerospace, defense, or heavy industry.
• 3+ years of experience in contracts, procurement, supplier management, export compliance, or regulatory compliance in manufacturing, construction, aerospace, defense, or heavy industry.
• 2+ years of experience as a people leader or owning a project portfolio.

Responsibilities

• Own the contract and compliance posture for assigned suppliers, construction contractors, equipment vendors, maintenance and repair contractors, and on-site service providers supporting Starship production, test, and Starbase operations.
• Run agreements from need through closeout, including scope, commercial terms, negotiation support, execution, change orders, amendments, claims, and closeout.
• Turn requests from production, test, facilities, crane and heavy equipment, construction, maintenance, and operations into statements of work, deliverables, acceptance criteria, and schedules that can be enforced.
• Own maintenance and repair contracts for critical equipment and site systems. Set the work the contractor must perform, the hours they must cover, the parts they must stage, and the condition the equipment must be in when they hand it back.
• Write and enforce service level agreements with maintenance and repair contractors, including response time, restore time, uptime, parts availability, reporting, escalation, and after-action requirements.
• Track each SLA with call logs, downtime records, and repair closeout; apply remedies including service credits, added coverage, or replacement of a contractor who misses the standard.
• Work with maintenance, reliability, crane operations, and production during a breakdown so the contractor is called under the right agreement and equipment is returned to service against the SLA.
• Review repeat repairs and SLA misses; change scope, spare-parts, or contractor when the same failure recurs.
• Build and maintain compliance programs: obligation registers, flowdowns, site-access checks, corrective action when requirements are missed.
• Review new and revised agreements for missing clauses; resolve with Procurement, Legal, Finance, and requesting team.
• Run contract changes; keep scope, price, and schedule to the written agreement; elevate disputes with a clear record.
• Lead or support supplier audits, assessments, and responses; close findings in the portfolio.
• Control export-controlled and proprietary information; ensure authorization and need-to-know before data or hardware leaves SpaceX.
• Onboard new suppliers and statements of work; release to work only after gates are met.
• Support source selection with compliance input; flag issues before award.
• Define and track metrics: cycle time, obligation aging, on-time delivery, SLA attainment, audit findings, and repeat noncompliance.
• Provide leadership with clear reads on who is authorized, late, or missing SLAs, and what is blocked.
• Collaborate with Legal, Procurement, Finance, Security, EHS, Quality, Maintenance, and Engineering to align terms with work realities.

Skills

Contract management

Compliance

Vendor management

SLA enforcement

Negotiation

ITAR/EAR knowledge

Audit responses

Flowdowns

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree

5+ years contracts/procurement experience

People leadership

Tools

SAP

Microsoft Excel

Power BI

Job description

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.

EXTERNAL FLEET MANAGER

As Starship production, test, and site work scale, the suppliers, builders, and service contractors who support that work have to stay on contract and in compliance. They turn operational needs into clear agreements, keep obligations and flowdowns in force, hold maintenance and repair contractors to their service levels, and close compliance gaps before they stop a delivery, a lift, a test, or site access.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Own the contract and compliance posture for assigned suppliers, construction contractors, equipment vendors, maintenance and repair contractors, and on-site service providers supporting Starship production, test, and Starbase operations
• Run agreements from need through closeout, including scope, commercial terms, negotiation support, execution, change orders, amendments, claims, and closeout
• Turn requests from production, test, facilities, crane and heavy equipment, construction, maintenance, and operations into statements of work, deliverables, acceptance criteria, and schedules that can be enforced
• Own maintenance and repair contracts for critical equipment and site systems. Set the work the contractor must perform, the hours they must cover, the parts they must stage, and the condition the equipment must be in when they hand it back
• Write and enforce service level agreements with maintenance and repair contractors, including:
  • Response time from the call to a qualified technician on site
  • Restore time from the failure back to a safe, usable condition
  • Uptime or availability targets on critical equipment
  • Parts availability, including what must be stocked locally and what can be ordered
  • Reporting, escalation, and after-action requirements for every outage
• Track each SLA with call logs, downtime records, and repair closeout. Apply the contract remedies, including service credits, added coverage, or replacement of a contractor who misses the standard
• Work with maintenance, reliability, crane operations, and production during a breakdown so the contractor is called under the right agreement, the scope stays inside that agreement, and the equipment is returned to service against the SLA
• Review repeat repairs and repeat SLA misses with maintenance and reliability. Change the scope, the spare-parts requirement, or the contractor when the same failure keeps coming back
• Build and maintain compliance programs for the assigned portfolio that include:
  • Contract obligation registers, milestone tracking, and evidence files
  • Flowdown of customer, regulatory, quality, safety, environmental, insurance, export-control, and security requirements into supplier agreements
  • Site-access, badging, training, and insurance checks before a supplier or contractor starts work
  • Corrective action when a supplier misses a requirement, a delivery, a repair window, or a site rule
• Review new and revised agreements for missing clauses, conflicting terms, and requirements the supplier cannot meet, and resolve them with Procurement, Legal, Finance, and the requesting team
• Run working-level contract changes. Hold scope, price, and schedule to the written agreement, and elevate disputes with a clear record
• Lead or support supplier and internal audits, assessments, and responses to customer, government, or internal findings. Own closure of findings in the assigned portfolio
• Control export-controlled and proprietary information shared with suppliers. Confirm authorization, marking, and need-to-know before data or hardware leaves SpaceX
• Onboard new suppliers and new statements of work. Release them to work only after contract, compliance, insurance, quality, and site-access gates are met
• Support source selection with compliance and past-performance input. Flag suppliers who cannot meet flowdowns, site rules, response times, or delivery risk before award
• Define and track contract and compliance metrics, including cycle time, obligation aging, on-time delivery, SLA attainment, audit findings, and repeat noncompliance
• Give production, test, maintenance, and site leaders a clear read on what is authorized, what is late, which contractors are missing their service levels, and what is blocked
• Work with Legal, Procurement, Finance, Security, EHS, Quality, Maintenance, and Engineering so contract terms, service levels, and compliance controls match how the work is actually done

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's degree in business, supply chain, engineering, or a related field OR 5+ years of experience in contracts, procurement, supplier management, export compliance, or regulatory compliance in manufacturing, construction, aerospace, defense, or heavy industry
• 3+ years of experience in contracts, procurement, supplier management, export compliance, or regulatory compliance in manufacturing, construction, aerospace, defense, or heavy industry
• 2+ years of experience as a people leader or owning a project portfolio.

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• 5+ years administering complex commercial or government contracts in a manufacturing, construction, test, or operational environment
• Experience managing maintenance, repair, or equipment-service contracts, including response time, restore time, uptime, and parts commitments
• Experience with on-site contractor control: insurance, indemnification, site rules, safety and environmental flowdowns, and access requirements
• Hands-on experience writing and negotiating statements of work, changes, claims, and closeout packages with suppliers or construction contractors
• Experience enforcing service level agreements with evidence, service credits, and contractor corrective action when uptime or response targets are missed
• Working knowledge of ITAR and EAR, including technical data control, foreign-person access, and supplier authorization
• Experience with quality and configuration requirements flowed to suppliers, including nonconformance and corrective action
• Experience using a contract lifecycle, procurement, or ERP system such as SAP, and with Microsoft Excel and Power BI for obligation and supplier reporting
• Familiarity with aerospace, heavy industrial, or construction work, including equipment, tooling, cranes, or site infrastructure contracts
• Ability to read a technical scope, a drawing package at a practical level, and a supplier proposal, and to tell which gaps matter
• Experience preparing audit responses and holding a supplier to a dated corrective action plan
• Clear writing, sound judgment under schedule pressure, and the ability to say what is not authorized
• Eligibility to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Stand: up to 4 hours per day
• Sit: up to 6 hours per day
• Walk: up to 3 hours per day
• Lift/Carry: up to 25 lbs (unassisted), up to 1 hour per day
• Climb (ladder/stairs): up to 1 hour per day
• Kneel/Crouch: up to 1 hour per day
• Ability to work in temperatures over 80°F: up to 3 hours per day
• Must be able to work in an office and in active production, test, and construction areas while wearing required personal protective equipment, including an air-purifying respirator when the area requires it
• Must be willing to work extended hours and weekends when contract awards, deliveries, repairs, tests, or audits require it

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 Aff…? or applicants requiring reasonable accommodation to the application/interview process should reach out to [e-mail].