Supplier Development Engineer, Materials & Special Processes (Falcon & Dragon)

SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES CORP; Hawthorne (CA); On-site; USD 100,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES CORP in Hawthorne, CA is seeking a Supplier Development Engineer for Materials & Special Processes to support Falcon & Dragon programs. The role focuses on managing outsourced special processes, improving supplier performance, and ensuring manufacturability early in NPI.

You will partner with procurement and engineering to resolve root causes, drive PPAP, and lead continuous improvement, with travel up to 40-50%.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline required.
• 1+ years in manufacturing or process engineering or related internship/projects.
• Experience with special processes such as coatings, plating or chemical processing is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Serve as technical contact for outsourced special processes and consumables, resolving high-impact issues.
• Review parts issues and drive root-cause corrections, including supplier changes as needed.
• Support NPI and PPAP to ensure stable supply and delivery performance.
• Lead containment and drive continuous improvement with cross-functional teams.

Skills

MS Office

Excel

SQL

Written communication

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline

Tools

MS Office

Excel

SQL

Job description

Supplier Development Engineer, Materials & Special Processes (Falcon & Dragon)

Hawthorne, CA

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 of enabling human life on Mars.

SUPPLIER DEVELOPMENT ENGINEER, MATERIALS & SPECIAL PROCESSES (FALCON & DRAGON)

SpaceX demands a new type of supply chain. We require our suppliers to provide premium quality with rapidly evolving designs at increasingly ambitious volumes. We are actively looking for candidates who possess comprehensive knowledge of manufacturing and quality tools and have unrelenting motivation to enable suppliers to succeed. This position will support our Dragon and Falcon programs and requires a combination of proven leadership and technical capabilities.

This is a highly technical position that requires practical experience in process engineering and new product development to stabilized production for the special processes and consumables used in rockets and rocket engines. The ideal candidate will have a broad understanding of both aerospace consumables (paint, adhesives, and other chemicals) and special processes (thin film coatings, chemical processing, and plating) with the desire and capability to take on new challenges in unfamiliar areas to help enable our mission to Mars.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Act as the technical point of contact for outsourced specials processes and consumables such as paints, adhesives, and chemicals, solving emergent challenges at suppliers and mitigating risk to the manifest by addressing high-impact manufacturing and quality challenges
• Review issues on assigned parts and solve to the root cause, implementing changes at the supplier, at SpaceX or both, as appropriate, drive further actions to closure, and re-source to new suppliers where appropriate
• Create and disposition issue tickets where needed, working with engineering counterparts to implement, but not limited to, required re-work, repair, or use as-is disposition
• Become thoroughly familiar with your assigned products and processes that make up the overall assembly and become the primary point of contact for supply chain related defects
• Work with procurement to find exceptional suppliers and vet them appropriately for quality and ability to meet our aggressive takt times
• Conduct design for manufacturing (DFM) reviews to ensure parts are manufacturable at early stages, preferably prior to sourcing
• Own the new product introduction (NPI) process at a supplier for new parts, drawing changes, or when re-sourcing existing parts to a new supplier
• Drive the production part approval process (PPAP) program to ensure stable supply, reduce inspection oversight, and improve overall delivery time
• Demonstrate innovation, technical excellence, attention to detail, self-direction, and courage
• Drive for results and customer satisfaction by collaborating with teams, leading projects, and continuously driving improvement in the supply base
• Lead containment activities on assigned parts, working with cross-functional counterparts to agree on scope, path forward, and ultimate resolution

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline
• 1+ years of experience in a manufacturing or process engineering role (including school projects, clubs, or internships)
• Experience in special processes such as thin film coatings, thermal spray coatings, chemical processing, plating, thermal protection systems and/or similar products/processes

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Experience with consumables such as paint, adhesives and other chemicals used in aerospace applications
• Familiarity with laboratory testing related to consumables or special processes
• Experience with interpreting engineering drawings and models; GD&T, etc.
• Knowledge of supplier quality processes (production part approval process, advanced product quality planning, first article inspection reports, etc.)
• Knowledge of statistical techniques and methods, e.g., design of experiments, Lean, Six Sigma, etc.
• Disciplined approach to problem solving - 8D
• Proficient in MS Office and Excel applications and report writing
• Proficient in SQL
• Knowledge of lean concepts
• Experience with sharing information and influencing others; strong written and verbal communication skills, able to liaise cross functionally, internally and externally, make presentations to team members and management

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Ability to travel: up to 40-50% work week travel
• Ability to work extended hours, some nights and/or weekends as needed to meet major milestones
• This position is based in Hawthorne, CA and requires being onsite - remote work not considered
• Valid driver’s license

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:

Pay Range:
Level 1: $100,000.00 - $117,500.00
Level 2: $115,000.00 - $140,000.00

Your actual level and base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills, education, and experience.

Base salary is just one part of your total rewards package at SpaceX. You may also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the form of company stock or long-term cash