Materials Engineer for Orbital AI Compute

SpaceX; Bastrop (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

SpaceX is seeking a Materials Engineer for the Starmind program to own the materials lifecycle for onboard compute and satellite hardware. You will contribute to high-reliability microelectronics packaging, cooling, and radiators, supporting orbital AI workloads.

You will collaborate across mechanical, thermal, electrical, and software teams to drive materials selection, prototyping, and manufacturing, ensuring safety and performance under space environments.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in materials science, mechanical engineering, or other engineering discipline.
• Experience in microelectronics device research or manufacturing.

Responsibilities

• Rapidly develop high-reliability microelectronics packages, cooling systems, and radiator hardware for satellites.
• Own the full lifecycle of materials specification, validation, and process development— including device modeling, characterization of performance metrics, and materials failure analysis.
• Drive system trades, requirements capture, materials selection, prototyping, manufacturing, failure analysis.
• Build supply chains for build-up layers, plating chemicals, coatings, thermal interface materials, and other materials for compute and satellite manufacturing. Define incoming acceptance criteria for materials.
• Address materials and process challenges in advanced packaging while spearheading the development of next-generation TIM materials to improve packaging performance.
• Specify and implement in-process metrology tools for quality control. Design thermal test vehicles and test setups to evaluate material/electronic properties.

Education

Bachelor's degree in materials science or mechanical engineering

Master’s degree in materials science or similar field

Job description

SpaceX is seeking a Materials Engineer for the Starmind program to own the materials lifecycle for onboard compute and satellite hardware. You will contribute to high-reliability microelectronics packaging, cooling, and radiators, supporting orbital AI workloads.

You will collaborate across mechanical, thermal, electrical, and software teams to drive materials selection, prototyping, and manufacturing, ensuring safety and performance under space environments.