Lead Process Engineer, Starship Materials Production

SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES CORP

Hawthorne (CA)

On-site

USD 135,000 - 215,000

Full time

14 days+

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Job summary

SpaceX in Hawthorne, CA is seeking a Sr. Process Engineer for Starship Materials Production. You will own equipment design, procurement, and automation across powder handling, mixers, and liquid dispensing, driving FAT/SAT, and ramping to rate on high‑volume materials.

The role requires leading tooling design for automation, DOE/SPC-based optimization, and close collaboration with materials, quality, and design teams to meet flight‑quality requirements. Onsite production experience is essential.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, materials engineering, manufacturing engineering, or related technical discipline.
5+ years hands-on experience with powder handling/dispensing, industrial mixers, liquid dispensing, fluid delivery, or chemical/materials production equipment.
Onsite role on the production floor; remote work not considered.
Travel to vendors for FATs/SATs and production ramping may be required.

Responsibilities

Design, specify, procure, install, and commission powder handling/dispensing systems, industrial mixers, and liquid dispensing equipment for paints, adhesives, ablatives, sealants, fillers, and other formulated materials.
Own powder equipment including hoppers, feeders (screw, vibratory, loss-in-weight), weigh/batch systems, dust collection, pneumatic conveying, and powder-to-liquid incorporation.
Own mixers and blending equipment (high-shear, planetary, dual-asymmetric, ribbon, paddle, vacuum, reactors) including agitation, vacuum/degassing, temperature control, seals, cleanability, and integration with upstream feed and downstream dispense/packaging.
Own liquid dispensing systems including pumps, meters, valves, manifolds, tanks, pressure/vacuum and temperature control, and single- or multi-component meter-mix-dispense platforms.
Automate production cells with sensors, motion, recipe/batch control, interlocks, data logging, and PLC/HMI/SCADA integration to maximize unattended or semi-attended operation.
Design custom tooling and fixtures that enable automation (dispense/hold tooling, changeover tooling, transfer tooling, alignment jigs, poke-yoke, robot/gantry interfaces); take tooling from CAD through fabrication, tryout, and production release.
Lead capital equipment projects cradle-to-grave: vendor selection, design reviews, SOWs, procurement, FAT at vendor sites, SAT, installation, and ramp.
Travel to vendors to execute FATs, validate rate/accuracy/repeatability/cleanability/safety, and drive design corrections before shipment.
Productionize equipment and processes for NPIs, including work instructions, control plans, and rate capability demonstration.
Partner with materials, quality, production, and design to ensure formulations are mixable and dispensable at scale and meet flight quality requirements.
Drive root cause analysis, DOE, and SPC on mix and dispense performance; continuous improvement for throughput, changeover, cleanability, dust control, and cost.
Develop and maintain process specifications, SOPs, and equipment documentation; train technicians and hand off reliable cells to production.
Support hazardous materials handling, containment, and EHS requirements for solvent-based, reactive, and powder chemistries.