Starship Automation & Controls Engineer — Launch Impact

SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES CORP; Town of Florida (NY); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

SpaceX in Cape Canaveral, FL is seeking a Senior Automation & Controls Engineer (Starship) to design and activate the electrical and control systems for our launch facility. The role is hands-on, joining a team of elite engineers building Starship and supporting ground systems for production and flight tests.

Responsibilities include PLC programming, SCADA and HMI work, hardware layouts, and integration with data acquisition, ensuring NFPA79/NEC/UL508A compliance.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering required.
• 5+ years in instrumentation power systems, data acquisition, or PLCs.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop control systems for launch operations.
• Architect, write, and debug PLC code for manufacturing apps.
• Design controls network interfaces and data acquisition.
• Maintain SCADA infrastructure at launch sites.
• Layout NFPA79/NEC/UL508A compliant panels; create schematics.
• Manage electrical cabinets, wiring, and pneumatics/plumbing.
• Oversee checkouts and activation testing of new equipment.
• Create robust procedures for technicians.
• Provide troubleshooting for ground support equipment.

Skills

PLC programming

HMI/SCADA

Electrical design

Python

C#

SQL

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechatronics or related

Tools

EPlan

SIEMENS TIA Portal

Ignition

Job description

SpaceX in Cape Canaveral, FL is seeking a Senior Automation & Controls Engineer (Starship) to design and activate the electrical and control systems for our launch facility. The role is hands-on, joining a team of elite engineers building Starship and supporting ground systems for production and flight tests.

Responsibilities include PLC programming, SCADA and HMI work, hardware layouts, and integration with data acquisition, ensuring NFPA79/NEC/UL508A compliance.