Welding Engineer

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

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive medical, vision, dental coverage

401(k) retirement plan

Paid parental leave

Job summary

SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES CORP is looking for a Welding Engineer to support the manufacturing and development of Falcon 9 and Starship vehicles. The role involves developing and optimizing welding designs and processes, and collaborating closely with design and manufacturing engineers.

The ideal candidate will have a Bachelor's degree in engineering and hands-on experience with welded assemblies. Responsibilities include conducting welding tests, optimizing weld processes, and improving quality control measures.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline.
• Hands-on fabrication, manufacturing, or testing experience of welded assemblies.

Responsibilities

• Develop, optimize, and qualify weld processes and parameters.
• Support production operations on full scale welded assemblies.
• Conduct root cause analysis for design and manufacturing.

Skills

Welding process optimization

Root cause analysis

Fabrication experience

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering

Tools

Welding equipment

NDE techniques

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.

Welding Engineer

This position will support manufacturing and development of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and Starship launch vehicles, Dragon spacecraft, and Starlink satellites alongside a strong group of design and build engineers. The person in this position will help develop, qualify, and optimize welding designs and processes including but not limited to electron beam welding, laser beam welding, gas tungsten arc welding, orbital tube welding, resistance welding, gas metal arc welding, and plasma arc welding. The welding engineer in this role will interface daily with design and manufacturing engineers to make welding judgment calls and improvements and will enforce standardized practices and procedures on multiple welded assemblies.

Responsibilities

• Develop, optimize, and qualify weld processes and parameters for multiple welding processes including but not limited to electron beam welding, laser beam welding, gas tungsten arc welding, orbital tube welding, resistance welding, gas metal arc welding, friction stir welding, and plasma arc welding
• Support production operations on full scale welded assemblies, providing direction to manufacturing engineers and welders on correct techniques in a fast paced manufacturing environment
• Support design, manufacturing, and materials engineering with root cause analysis
• Work closely with design, tooling, automation, and development engineers to improve welded designs for manufacturing
• Set up welding qualification test campaigns and interpret mechanical testing and NDE results
• Work closely with NDE personnel to interpret weld quality on development and flight hardware in addition to developing and implementing innovative state‑of‑the‑art NDE techniques
• Develop and implement improved process control where possible using test and NDE results as feedback loop
• Set up automated welding solutions in an effort to drive process consistency
• Scope out new welding technologies that may be employed to improve rate/quality/efficiency

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline
• Hands‑on fabrication, manufacturing, or testing experience of welded assemblies

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Master’s degree in welding engineering or related technical program
• Hands‑on welding experience of stainless steel, nickel‑based, titanium, copper, and aluminum alloys
• Experience with brazing, joining, and metallographic interpretation
• Fundamental understanding of welding processes including, but not limited to, electron beam, laser beam, plasma arc, resistance, friction‑stir, gas tungsten arc, and gas metal arc
• Robot programming experience for automated welding solutions
• Tooling design experience for welded assemblies to reduce part distortion and improve part consistency
• Understanding of weld strength testing methodologies, standards, and data acquisition systems used to make informed welding decisions (ASTM E8, E399, E740, ISO 15653, AWS D17.X, AWS C7.X, thermocouples, strain gages, etc.)
• Experience with root cause analysis and corrective actions including, but not limited to, optical and SEM fractography/metallography, hardness, chemical analysis, and mechanical testing
• Self‑motivated engineer with keen attention to detail

Additional Requirements

• Must be willing to work long hours and weekends as needed to support and maintain build schedules
• Travel may be required to other SpaceX facilities in Texas and Washington state (up to 50%)
• Ability to perform job duties that require standing, kneeling, crouching, twisting upper body, working in cramped positions in small openings and climbing hand over hand
• Strong ability to multi‑task and communicate status and results with broad spectrum of internal and external departments

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 awards, as well as potential discretionary bonuses and the ability to purchase additional stock at a discount through an Employee Stock Purchase Plan. You will also receive access to comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, short and long‑term disability insurance, life insurance, paid parental leave, and various other discounts and perks. You may also accrue 3 weeks of paid vacation and will be eligible for 10 or more paid holidays per year. Employees accrue paid sick leave pursuant to Company policy which satisfies or exceeds the accrual, carryover, and use requirements of the law.

To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

SpaceX is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with SpaceX is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.