Government Project Engineer

SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES CORP; Hawthorne (CA); On-site; USD 100,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

401(k) retirement plan

Medical, vision & dental coverage

3 weeks paid vacation

10+ paid holidays

Job summary

SpaceX seeks a Government Project Engineer to drive government missions with NASA and key partners, ensuring readiness and mission success across complex launch programs.

You will coordinate schedules, analyze requirements, and develop technical arguments while traveling to launch sites and working with diverse teams to deliver high‑priority space systems.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline.
• 1+ years of hardware experience performing engineering, fabrication, assembly, or testing.

Responsibilities

• Lead 30+ subject matter experts across NASA LSP, NASA Crew, and NSSL.
• Prepare and manage project schedules with customers and internal SpaceX teams.
• Maintain a systems-level understanding of the vehicle and deep dive into topics as needed.
• Create and present clear and concise technical arguments to internal and external teams.
• Negotiate, review, and ensure implementation of customer maintenance, launch vehicle, and reuse requirements.

Skills

Excellent communication skills

Strong interpersonal and collaborative

Leadership skills

Negotiation

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering

Master's degree in engineering

Tools

NASTRAN

ABAQUS

ANSYS

CAD

Job description

Government Project Engineer

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

The SpaceX engineering teams tackle the most challenging problems in space exploration by developing our reusable launch vehicles (Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy) and spacecraft (Crew Dragon and Cargo Dragon). These vehicles are responsible for delivering satellites into orbit, crew and cargo to the ISS, and will be instrumental in extending humanity’s reach to the moon, Mars, and beyond.

The Government Project Engineering team is responsible for ensuring that we have the customer trust necessary to launch the world’s most valuable and critical crew missions and payloads. We enable increased launch rate and customer flexibility, while ensuring customer satisfaction with 100% mission success.

Responsibilities

• Lead one or more technical subject areas, managing 30+ subject matter experts across 3 different customer organizations (NASA LSP, NASA Crew, and NSSL)
• Prepare and manage project schedules in collaboration with customers and internal SpaceX teams across Falcon programs
• Maintain a systems‑level understanding of the vehicle, with the ability to deep dive into specific technical topics as needed
• Create and present clear and concise technical arguments to both external and internal teams
• Negotiate, review, and ensure implementation of all customer maintenance, launch vehicle, and re‑use requirements
• Represent SpaceX in various customer‑led meetings and forums
• Manage vehicle changes for upcoming government, including notifying customers of any modifications
• Track SpaceX and customer risks while developing and coordination mitigation plans in partnership with the customers
• Travel to launch and test sites to support customer visits, tours, or engagements
• Ensure launch vehicle readiness for government missions, coordinating across teams as needed
• Analyze government and commercial customer requirements to determine compatibility with SpaceX products
• Perform specialized analysis in support of verification activities; lead or participate in tests and demonstrations in support of requirement verification, including joint testing with customers
• Interact with customers to describe designs and their function, answer high‑level customer technical questions, without a responsible engineer present
• Develop systems and applications to document SpaceX/customer interactions and feedback, and track customer approval workflow

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline
• 1+ years of hardware experience performing engineering, fabrication, assembly, or testing

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Master's degree in an engineering discipline
• Excellent communication skills and desire to attain highest levels of customer satisfaction
• Strong interpersonal and collaborative skills, with enthusiasm for problem solving and a great attitude in the face of extreme challenges
• Excellent negotiation, conflict resolution, and leadership skills
• Experience in technical project management and master scheduling
• Experience in owning and effectively resolving root‑cause investigations, including effective resolution and hardware containment actions
• 2+ years of experience with any of the following: requirements development, engineering design, hardware production, verification plan development, test and evaluation, NASA or USSF certification of spacecraft and launch vehicles, design engineering, mission management, production and test, launch and mission operations, flight test, systems integration and engineering, project management
• Hands‑on experience with various industry standard manufacturing tools (mills, lathes, electronics assembly, composite layups, etc.) and design or analysis packages (NASTRAN, ABAQUS, ANSYS, CAD, etc.)
• Hardware or project leadership on an award‑winning engineering project or competition team (FSAE, Design‑Build‑Fly, NASA Student Launch, etc.)

Additional Requirements

• Must be available to work long hours and weekends as necessary
• Must be available to travel as necessary

Compensation and Benefits

Pay range:
Level I: $100,000.00 – $117,500.00 per year
Level II: $115,000.00 – $140,000.00 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 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. Employees accrue paid sick leave pursuant to Company policy which satisfies or exceeds the accrual, carryover, and use requirements of the law.

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.

Equal Opportunity

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 [e-mail].