Lead Hardware Engineering: Design, Fixtures & Fab Leadership

SpaceX; Lockhart (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

United States Digital Space LLC is seeking a Lead Engineer to own the Development Operations stack for Starlink-related hardware in Bastrop, TX. The role focuses on design for manufacturability, process definition, and driving engineering decisions across CAD, GD&T, fixtures, and tooling.

You will lead a team of Build Engineers and design/DFM specialists, partnering with supervisors to align intake, scheduling, and vendor interactions while delivering robust hardware on schedule.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering or other engineering discipline.
• 2+ years leading a product development, manufacturing engineering, or project team.
• 3+ years of 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

Skills

Leadership

Product development

Manufacturing engineering

Education

Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering

Tools

NX

SolidWorks

DFMEA

Job description

United States Digital Space LLC is seeking a Lead Engineer to own the Development Operations stack for Starlink-related hardware in Bastrop, TX. The role focuses on design for manufacturability, process definition, and driving engineering decisions across CAD, GD&T, fixtures, and tooling.

You will lead a team of Build Engineers and design/DFM specialists, partnering with supervisors to align intake, scheduling, and vendor interactions while delivering robust hardware on schedule.