Thermal Development Technician (Starship)

SpaceX; Town of Texas (WI); On-site; USD 30,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

SpaceX is seeking a Thermal Development Technician for the STARSHIP program. You will join the Thermal Protection Systems team to help develop heat shields and ensure performance during atmospheric entry, spending time in the office, on the factory floor, and in the lab.

The role emphasizes hands-on fabrication, material handling of ceramic fibers and tiles, and preparing surfaces for processing to build robust TPS components for rockets and spacecraft.

Qualifications

• Experience handling ceramic materials and fabrication processes.
• Willingness to work on factory floor, lab, and in office.
• Basic surface preparation for processing.

Responsibilities

• Preprocess and manufacture ceramic fibers, filaments, and powders required for the fabrication of next-tier products (candidate must be comfortable working with these types of ceramic materials)
• Fabricate ceramic refractory billets, ceramic tiles, thermal gap fillers, coatings, and other components required for a robust thermal protection system
• Basic fabrication, surface preparation for processing

Skills

ceramic fibers

ceramic tiles

fabrication

surface preparation

hands-on

Job description

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.

THERMAL DEVELOPMENT TECHNICIAN (STARSHIP)

The Thermal Protection Systems (TPS) team tackles space exploration’s toughest problems by developing the heat shields for our next generation rockets and spacecraft. This hardware must survive the most extreme environments known to mankind and protect our vehicle through atmospheric entry. As a technician on the TPS team, you will thrive in a hands‑on environment and will spend time in the office, on the factory floor, and in the lab to execute on the mission to bring the capability of flying astronauts back to the United States.

Responsibilities

• Preprocess and manufacture ceramic fibers, filaments, and powders required for the fabrication of next-tier products (candidate must be comfortable working with these types of ceramic materials)
• Fabricate ceramic refractory billets, ceramic tiles, thermal gap fillers, coatings, and other components required for a robust thermal protection system
• Basic fabrication, surface preparation for processing