Principal Mechanical Engineer, Starship Hardware

InvestedintheMission; Town of Texas (WI); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

SpaceX is seeking a Principal Mechanical Engineer to own design and fabrication of Starship flight hardware, including propellant tanks and primary structures. You will work hands‑on with a world‑class production team, applying FEA, design for manufacturability, and rigorous testing to deliver reliable spaceflight hardware.

You will lead end‑to‑end design and analysis, collaborate across systems, and develop expertise in manufacturability for sheet metal and subassemblies.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline.
• 7+ years of mechanical design and analysis experience.
• Experience with FEA or multiphysics packages (NASTRAN, ABAQUS, ANSYS).

Responsibilities

• Develop design concepts and size vehicle structures based on flight loads.
• Collaborate with peers to balance mass, cost and capability.
• Create detailed designs and NX CAD models for components and assemblies.
• Build and run finite element models to validate designs.
• Apply hand calculations to iterate designs rapidly.
• Test joints and elements to prove strength and reliability.
• Support assembly in the factory and witness flight readiness.

Skills

Mechanical design

Finite element analysis

Cross‑functional team work

Design for manufacturability

Materials selection

Programming (Python/ Matlab)

CAD modeling (NX)

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering

Tools

NX CAD

NASTRAN

ABAQUS

ANSYS

Job description

SpaceX is seeking a Principal Mechanical Engineer to own design and fabrication of Starship flight hardware, including propellant tanks and primary structures. You will work hands‑on with a world‑class production team, applying FEA, design for manufacturability, and rigorous testing to deliver reliable spaceflight hardware.

You will lead end‑to‑end design and analysis, collaborate across systems, and develop expertise in manufacturability for sheet metal and subassemblies.