Sr. Materials Engineer, Corrosion Control and Fluid Compatibility (Starmind)

SpaceX; Bastrop (TX); On-site; USD 130,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

SpaceX's Starmind team in Bastrop, TX seeks a Sr. Materials Engineer to own corrosion control, chemical resistance, and long-term material compatibility for liquid cooling systems.

You will define materials specifications, test programs, and supplier evaluations to ensure reliability in extreme space environments. The role requires 5+ years in materials or fluids processing, hands-on corrosion knowledge, and experience with data analysis.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in materials science, chemical engineering, corrosion engineering, or a STEM field.
• 5+ years in chemical and fluids processing or thermal management systems.
• Hands-on experience with materials selection, testing, manufacturing processes, fluid compatibility and corrosion evaluations.

Responsibilities

• Own design criteria, selection, and reliability evaluations of materials used in liquid cooling systems
• Define and perform laboratory testing evaluating relevant corrosion mechanisms and long-duration chemical compatibility
• Define material and fluid performance requirements, specifications, validation approaches, and approval criteria
• Evaluate and down-select supplier technologies and formulations against performance, quality, cost, timing, and compliance objectives
• Drive material characterization and root cause analysis for failure resolution
• Define and execute experimental design and reliability campaigns for materials used in thermal management systems

Skills

Materials selection

Corrosion evaluations

Fluid compatibility

Laboratory testing

Python

Education

Bachelor's degree in materials science/Chemical engineering/Corrosion engineering or STEM

Job description

Sr. Materials Engineer, Corrosion Control and Fluid Compatibility (Starmind)

Bastrop, TX

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 ofenabling human life on Mars.

SR. MATERIALS ENGINEER, CORROSION CONTROL AND FLUID COMPATIBILITY (STARMIND)

SpaceX is leveraging its experience deploying and operating the world’s largest satellite constellation to develop Starmind, a new constellation of satellites capturing solar energy in space to power low-cost, high-performance AI compute for Earth. Realizing this vision demands highly reliable, high performance electrical compute hardware, solar power systems, thermal radiators, and more. These systems must operate in the extreme environment of space while delivering the connectivity, control, power distribution, and processing needed for orbital AI inference.

The Starmind team designs, builds, and operates the orbital compute fabric of the future, developing key in-house technologies from satellites’ flight computers and power systems to custom compute electronics, memory, and networking for on-orbit data centers. As a Senior Materials Engineer, you will serve as the technical owner for corrosion control, chemical resistance, liquid coolants and long-term material compatibility - defining and maintaining specifications for base fluids, additives, and wetted materials (including contaminant limits and compatibility criteria), while building and driving a comprehensive testing program evaluating coolant quality, contamination, and materials reliability.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Own design criteria, selection, and reliability evaluations of materials used in liquid cooling systems
• Define and perform laboratory testing evaluating relevant corrosion mechanisms and long-duration chemical compatibility
• Define material and fluid performance requirements, specifications, validation approaches, and approval criteria
• Evaluate and down-select supplier technologies and formulations against performance, quality, cost, timing, and compliance objectives
• Drive material characterization and root cause analysis for failure resolution
• Define and execute experimental design and reliability campaigns for materials used in thermal management systems

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in materials science, chemical engineering, corrosion engineering, or a STEM field
• 5+ years of experience in chemical and fluids processing or thermal management systems
• Hands-on experience with materials selection, testing, manufacturing processes, fluid compatibility and corrosion evaluations

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Master’s degree or PhD in materials science, chemical engineering, corrosion engineering, or a STEM field
• Strong understanding of chemical compatibility, corrosion mechanisms, coolant formulation, contaminant analysis, and the effects of vacuum, radiation, thermal cycling, and microgravity on fluids and materials
• Broad knowledge of thermal control systems, coolants (e.g., dielectric, ammonia, or specialized formulations), radiators, and/or two-phase systems
• Experience with spacecraft thermal control systems, satellite/ ISS/ CubeSat fluids, space-qualified coolants (e.g., dielectric, ammonia, or specialized formulations), radiators, or two-phase systems in vacuum/microgravity
• Experience coordinating material trials with process engineering, equipment suppliers, and material vendors
• Demonstrated ability to lead structured root cause analysis (e.g., DOE, 5-why, fishbone, fault-tree) and convert findings into durable material or process recommendations
• Experience working in a high-volume manufacturing or assembly environment and partnering with process, quality, production, and supply-chain teams
• Track record of owning complex, ambiguous materials problems end-to-end, setting priorities with limited supervision, and delivering results on tight timelines
• Experience mentoring engineers, technicians, interns, or new hires to a high-performing level
• Comfortable with data analysis (Python, JMP, MATLAB, or equivalent) to correlate process, metrology, and reliability results
• Strong first-principles problem solving and a demonstrated ability to dig deep on ambiguous materials and reliability challenges
• Passion for building, learning quickly, and owning outcomes end-to-end; thrives in a fast-paced, scrappy environment with tight timelines
• Effective written and interpersonal communication skills; able to convey complex technical ideas, influence decisions, and drive alignment across teams
• Self-motivated with strong organizational skills and a bias toward action

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Willingness to travel to other SpaceX sites and/or vendors for significant or extended periods (up to 25%)
• Ability to lift up to 30 lbs unassisted
• Ability to stand/walk for long periods of time
• Willingness to work long hours and weekends as needed to support manufacturing and test campaigns
• To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka 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. Learn more about the ITAR here .

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 Affcative Action Plan for veterans and individuals with disabilities, or applicants requiring reasonable accommodation to the application/interview process should reach out to [e-mail] .

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

As set forth in SpaceX’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.