Starship Machining: Lead Factory Ops Engineer

Spacex; Hawthorne (CA); Hybrid; USD 100,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options and equity potential

Comprehensive medical, vision, dental

401(k) retirement plan

Paid vacation and holidays

Job summary

SpaceX in Hawthorne, CA is seeking an Operations Engineer for Starship Machining to own factory layouts, install automated CNC cells, and lead multi-disciplinary projects on the floor. You will partner with vendors and internal teams to accelerate capacity, ensure safety, and optimize production flows.

The role emphasizes hands-on leadership, rapid execution, and continuous process improvements across Starship machining operations in a growing factory setting.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in physics or an engineering discipline.
• 2+ years of hands-on manufacturing experience.
• Experience with installing and commissioning complex machinery and automated cells.
• Process engineering experience including project management and layouts.
• Experience with lean, six sigma, and related production principles.

Responsibilities

• Design and own factory and production area layouts to increase capacity and capability for machining Starship components.
• Lead installation and commissioning of new automated CNC machining cells and related systems.
• Conduct vendor walks, negotiate prices, and manage schedules with vendors.
• Execute complex projects efficiently, minimizing time and cost to the business.
• Lead by example on projects on the factory floor and drive rapid completion.
• Develop system and process improvements across production teams.
• Create tools to analyze delivery, capacity, and cost for decision-making.
• Drive safety adherence throughout the factory build-out and production areas.

Skills

Manufacturing experience

Cross-team collaboration

Process improvement

Analytical thinking

Education

Bachelor’s degree in physics or engineering

Tools

Excel

SQL

Python/R

Job description

SpaceX in Hawthorne, CA is seeking an Operations Engineer for Starship Machining to own factory layouts, install automated CNC cells, and lead multi-disciplinary projects on the floor. You will partner with vendors and internal teams to accelerate capacity, ensure safety, and optimize production flows.

The role emphasizes hands-on leadership, rapid execution, and continuous process improvements across Starship machining operations in a growing factory setting.