Operations Engineer (Starship)

SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES CORP; Hawthorne (CA); On-site; USD 100,000 - 117,500; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage

401(k) retirement plan

Paid parental leave

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Job summary

SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES CORP is seeking an Operations Engineer in Hawthorne to support the Starship program through strategic planning and optimization of production processes. The ideal candidate should have a Bachelor’s degree in engineering and experience in manufacturing environments.

The role involves designing factory layouts, managing production strategy, and improving operational processes. Candidates must be able to pass background checks and be onsite, as remote work is not considered.

Qualifications

• 1+ years of professional or internship experience in a manufacturing environment.
• Experience with inventory, production, and capacity planning.
• Experience in a developmental manufacturing environment.

Responsibilities

• Design and own factory and production area layouts.
• Conduct job walks with vendors and negotiate prices.
• Develop and track key performance measures to optimize production.

Skills

Operations engineering

Data analysis

Project management

Lean principles

Statistics

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering

Tools

Excel

SQL

Python/R

Job description

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

Operations Engineer (Starship)

The Operations Engineering team supports the Starship program in Hawthorne through strategic planning, optimization of production processes, and allocation of resources. We are seeking engineers to lead cross‑functional and multidisciplinary teams that will create the factory of the future that optimizes operations in a fast‑paced environment. The ideal candidate should be an emerging leader who can apply principles of operations engineering, engineering, and data science to complex multi‑resource optimization. We are searching for qualified engineers who can continuously improve part flow, are interested in being on a manufacturing floor, and use data to drive decisions.

Responsibilities

• Design and own factory and production area layouts following the rules of clear visual indicators and linear flow principles.
• Conduct job walks with vendors, negotiate prices, and hold vendors to schedule.
• Host process walks of production lines, ask questions to delete or simplify process steps, and kick off changes.
• Work as part of a team to develop and manage production strategy to mitigate future production risks and seize emerging opportunities to improve quality, output, safety, and cost.
• Develop tools to analyze delivery, capacity, and cost problems for production to guide decisions.
• Identify operational challenges within the organization, determine root cause, and develop appropriate solutions.
• Develop and track key performance measures, and identify decision points and actions to optimize production to meet demand.
• Actively develop system and process improvements within and between production elements.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline.
• 1+ years of professional or internship experience in a manufacturing environment.

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Process engineering experience including project management, capacity modeling, processing mapping, and layouts.
• Experience with inventory, production, and capacity planning (including MRP/ERP systems).
• Experience using Excel, SQL, or Python/R for analysis on modeling dynamic systems.
• Proficiency with statistics, data analysis, cost/benefit analysis, and visualization.
• Experience as an industrial, operations, process or manufacturing engineer in a developmental manufacturing environment.
• Experience with lean, six sigma, and related production principles.
• Experience as a contributor to multi‑disciplinary and cross‑functional teams.

Additional Requirements

• Must be able to work extended hours and/or weekends as needed to meet major milestones.
• This is a hands‑on position that will require standing for long durations of the day and directly interacting with other team members and hardware on the floor.
• Must be able to travel – up to 10% work week travel may be required to other sites.
• Must be able to pass Air Force background checks for Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg.
• This position is based in Hawthorne, CA and requires being onsite – remote work not considered.

Compensation and Benefits

Pay Range: Level 1: $100,000.00 – $117,500.00; Level 2: $115,000.00 – $140,000.00.

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, 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.

To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful permanent resident (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 Employer

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].