Lead Hardware Engineer, Development Operations (Starlink)

SpaceX; Town of Texas (WI); On-site; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

SpaceX is seeking a Lead Engineer to own the Development Operations stack in Bastrop, responsible for design, DFM, and the engineers who run it to ensure programs hit schedule without a hero on every job.

You will lead a team of Build Engineers and design/DFM ICs, own fixtures and tooling from concept through fab, and partner with CNC programmers and machinists to push for manufacturability and quality on high‑mix hardware projects.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering or related field.
• 2+ years leading a product development, manufacturing engineering, or project team.
• 3+ years hands-on design, analysis, build, and/or manufacturing of mechanical or electromechanical hardware.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Development Operations engineering team (Build Engineers and design/DFM ICs): hire, coach, set goals, and raise the bar on quality, throughput, and schedule
• Own design for manufacturability from concept through fab: original CAD, GD&T, design reviews, and design changes that reduce cost, complexity, and cycle time
• Own fixtures, tooling, workholding, and mechanical catalog items (cells, conveyors, buffers, stands) from raw material through handoff to the customer program
• Act as technical decision maker for the shop engineering stack - what we make, how we make it, and when we push a design back to the RE
• Partner with Development Supervisors on intake, queue, and expedite
• Partner with CNC programmers, machinists, welders, ACE specialists, and inventory
• Drive NCR, root cause, and corrective action on non-conforming product (tooling, cells, fixtures, piece parts)
• Create and maintain build documentation: procedures, MBOMs, integration instructions, and planning that technicians and vendors can execute
• Interface with supply chain and vendors so piece parts and sub-assemblies hit rate
• Present look-ahead with a recommendation (options, capacity, risk)
• Support Development Test with fixtures and fab

Skills

CAD (NX/SolidWorks)

DFM / DFA

GD&T

Project leadership

Manufacturing engineering

Education

Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering

Tools

NX

SolidWorks

Teamcenter

Job description

SpaceX is seeking a Lead Engineer to own the Development Operations stack in Bastrop, responsible for design, DFM, and the engineers who run it to ensure programs hit schedule without a hero on every job.

You will lead a team of Build Engineers and design/DFM ICs, own fixtures and tooling from concept through fab, and partner with CNC programmers and machinists to push for manufacturability and quality on high‑mix hardware projects.