Sr. Operations Engineer, Blades and Vanes Foundry

SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES CORP; Bastrop (TX); On-site; USD 95,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading aerospace manufacturer in Bastrop, TX is seeking a Sr. Operations Engineer to design and manage operations within the foundry. The candidate will oversee the lifecycle of complex projects, focusing on efficiency and effective solutions. Key requirements include a Bachelor's degree in engineering and over 5 years of experience in related fields. The role involves physical demands and may require travel to support site operations, ensuring a dynamic work environment.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional experience in industrial, operations, or construction engineering.

Responsibilities

• Design and own factory layouts that emphasize operational efficiency.
• Act as the primary project manager for multi-discipline aspects.
• Perform detailed scheduling and cost tracking.

Skills

Process engineering

Project management

Capacity modeling

Process mapping

Lean principles

Six Sigma

Excel

SQL

Python/R

Education

Bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline

Job description

Sr. Operations Engineer, Blades and Vanes Foundry

Bastrop, TX

SpaceX was founded under the belief that a future where humanity is 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.

Responsibilities

• Design and own factory and production area layouts that follow lean principles, emphasizing clear visual indicators, linear flow, and operational efficiency.
• Own the full lifecycle of the foundry buildout, ensuring on-time and under-budget delivery of complex projects with minimum time and expense to the business.
• Act as the primary construction project manager and extreme owner for all multi-discipline aspects of the project, both in the field and office.
• Get hands‑on and lead by example to ensure projects are completed rapidly.
• Perform project control tasks including detailed scheduling, cost tracking, budgeting, forecasting, and reporting.
• Facilitate all required city, county, and governmental approvals and permits.
• Interact daily with contractors, fabricators, engineers, and internal customers while resolving design and construction conflicts in the field in real-time.
• Coordinate with end users, facilities teams, and operations stakeholders for seamless building operations, maintenance, and handover.
• Develop tools and analytics to analyze delivery, capacity, and cost problems, providing clear data‑driven guidance for decision making.
• Proactively identify operational challenges, inefficiencies, and opportunities for process simplification, and help implement effective solutions.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline.
• 5+ years of professional experience in industrial, operations, or construction engineering.

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Process engineering experience including project management, capacity modeling, process mapping, and layouts.
• Experience with inventory, production, and capacity planning (including MRP/ERP systems).
• Experience as an industrial, operations, process or manufacturing engineer in a developmental manufacturing environment.
• Understanding of multiple disciplines such as HVAC, gases, civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, piping, geotechnical, and surveying.
• 1+ years of experience using Excel, SQL, or Python/R for analysis or modeling dynamic systems.
• Experience with lean, six sigma, and related production principles.
• Ability to work well across teams and skill sets to find the simplest and best solution.
• Experience as a contributor to multi-disciplinary and cross‑functional teams.

Additional Requirements

• Physical effort with lifting and carrying materials or equipment (up to 25 lbs.).
• Possible exposure to work in extreme outdoor environments – heat, cold, rain.
• Must be available to work extended hours and weekends when needed based on site operational needs.
• Occasional travel may be required to support projects at other sites (up to 25%).
• To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. lawful permanent resident (green card holder), refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or 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 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 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].