Tooling Design Engineer – Solar Cell Manufacturing

Starlink; Bastrop (TX); On-site; USD 95,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

SpaceX’s Solar Cell team is expanding its Solar Cell Factory, designing and optimizing mechanical and automation systems for high‑volume production of solar cells and associated equipment. You will own subsystems from concept through ramp, focusing on safety, robustness, and efficiency.

You will develop production lines, including robot end effector design, control systems, and automation programming, while analyzing uptime and conducting FMEA to minimize risk and maximize throughput.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in an engineering field.
• Experience with CAD and FEA software.
• 1+ years of mechanical/electromechanical design, analysis, testing, and/or manufacturing experience.

Responsibilities

• Own electronics manufacturing subsystems and equipment from conceptual design through high-volume production and automation ramp.
• Develop design criteria, collaborate on requirements, and drive system-level optimization.
• Test and iterate on products via FMEA, reliability modeling, and stress testing to predict and mitigate failures and maximize OEE.
• Design and develop production lines, including robot end effector design, process development, control system design, and automation programming.
• Uptime optimization: monitor equipment uptime, identify bottlenecks, and implement preventive measures for higher availability.

Skills

CAD/FEA

Mechanical design

Design for manufacturability

Data analysis

Project leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering

Master’s degree in engineering

Tools

NX CAD

FEA software

Automation tools

Job description

SpaceX’s Solar Cell team is expanding its Solar Cell Factory, designing and optimizing mechanical and automation systems for high‑volume production of solar cells and associated equipment. You will own subsystems from concept through ramp, focusing on safety, robustness, and efficiency.

You will develop production lines, including robot end effector design, control systems, and automation programming, while analyzing uptime and conducting FMEA to minimize risk and maximize throughput.