Senior Mechanical Design Engineer — Starfall Capsule Structures

SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES CORP; Hawthorne, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 135,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Health, dental, vision insurance

401(k)

Job summary

SpaceX in Hawthorne, CA is seeking a Sr. Mechanical Design Engineer for the Starfall program. You will own primary/secondary structures, fluid systems, and components through the full product life cycle, solving complex problems with a ground-up physics approach.

You will perform hand calculations, FEA, and CAD, lead design reviews, and coordinate with suppliers, customers, and internal teams. This role demands strong analytical and interpersonal skills, with ability to travel and work extended

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline.
• 5+ years of experience with CAD or FEA software packages.
• 5+ years of hands-on hardware experience performing fabrication, assembly, and/or testing.

Responsibilities

• Own primary and secondary structures, mechanisms, and/or fluid systems for Starfall Cargo Vehicle.
• Use hand calculations, finite element analyses (FEA), and computer-aided designs (CAD) to ensure hardware meets requirements.
• Lead design reviews and hardware qualifications.
• Serve as technical interface with suppliers, customers, and internal production/launch teams.
• Own the hardware delivery timeline and success through inception, design, assembly, launch and re-use.

Skills

Strong analytical thinking

Interpersonal skills

Creative problem solving

Python

Matlab

Excel

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering

Master's degree in engineering

Tools

NX/Teamcenter

FEA/Multiphysics software (NASTRAN/ABAQUS/ANSYS)

CAD

Job description

SpaceX in Hawthorne, CA is seeking a Sr. Mechanical Design Engineer for the Starfall program. You will own primary/secondary structures, fluid systems, and components through the full product life cycle, solving complex problems with a ground-up physics approach.

You will perform hand calculations, FEA, and CAD, lead design reviews, and coordinate with suppliers, customers, and internal teams. This role demands strong analytical and interpersonal skills, with ability to travel and work extended