Senior Materials Engineer (Starship) – Materials & Manufacturing

SpaceX; Florida; On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

SpaceX is seeking a Sr. Materials Engineer for Starship to advance materials and processes from production through flight and reuse.

You will apply advanced metal processing—plate, casting, forging, coatings, and heat treating—to ensure reliability in extreme environments on both new and returning vehicles. The role requires hands-on manufacturing experience and collaboration with design, reliability, and production teams to tackle complex material challenges for current and next generation

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in materials engineering or related field.
• 5+ years of experience in a materials engineering role.
• Experience with multiple manufacturing methods including coatings, metal processing, casting, forging, brazing, welding, and heat treating.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and deploy materials and process direction for Starship design, manufacturing, maintenance, and refurbishment.
• Increase reliability of Starship manufacturing, maintenance, and reuse processes through material and process selection, analysis, development, and test.
• Develop physical, mechanical, and thermal properties for materials.
• Improve our special processes and materials through characterization and development.
• Work directly with component design build and test engineering, design reliability, and production teams daily.
• Perform root cause investigations using fractography, metallography, and testing.
• Provide technical reviews and advising for design efforts specifically related to drawings, specifications, and material requirements.
• Collaborate with other engineers, subject matter experts, and technicians to solve complex material and processing challenges on our current and next generation vehicles.

Skills

Tribological coatings

Sheet/plate metal processing

Casting

Forging

Brazing

Welding

Heat treating

Failure analysis

FTIR

SEM

Metallography

Education

Bachelor's degree in materials engineering or related field

Tools

FTIR

SEM

Metallography

Job description

SpaceX is seeking a Sr. Materials Engineer for Starship to advance materials and processes from production through flight and reuse.

You will apply advanced metal processing—plate, casting, forging, coatings, and heat treating—to ensure reliability in extreme environments on both new and returning vehicles. The role requires hands-on manufacturing experience and collaboration with design, reliability, and production teams to tackle complex material challenges for current and next generation