New Graduate Engineer, Starship Components

Hawthorne, CAfull timeOn Site

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entry

$100k–$130k

H1B: no

SpaceX New Graduate Engineer on the Starship Components team develops advanced spacecraft components including valves, actuators, and pumps. Responsibilities include manufacturing, design, testing, and machining of hardware to operate in extreme environments.

Responsibilities

Partner with production and design to accelerate to a weekly Starship delivery rate, striving for high yield and automotive-level costs. Improve designs for assembly/testing, implement linear production flow, design tooling, develop welds, maintain work instructions, train others, and cut in targeted automation.
Assemble design criteria, select an architecture, size the component for proper force margin, perform structural analysis, generate detailed part drawings, perform qualification testing, present design reviews, and monitor hardware performance in vehicle operations.
Target zero in-flight anomalies of your hardware and reduce component-caused delays in production and launch. Spearhead component root-cause investigations in the factory and on the vehicle, and implement fixes to prevent repeat failures.
Design, build, and validate automated test systems that prove flight hardware quickly and repeatably. Stand up the infrastructure that finds failures on the ground so they never happen on the mission. Operate high-energy equipment with uncompromising safety discipline.
Prove out prototypes in R&D, define hardware limits in qualification tests to failure (vibration, thermal, life, climatic), and write per-unit acceptance test plans under flight-like conditions (cryogenic temperatures, high voltage, high pressure).
For individual parts, define the manufacturing strategy (casting, forging, machining), implement DFM feedback, perform CNC programming on lathes/mills, select cutting tools, prove out the machining process, generate an inspection plan, and enable lights-out machining.

Qualification

Strong foundation in solid mechanicsAbility to collectADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

Required

Bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline or physics.
1+ years of mechanical and/or fluids engineering experience via project teams, research, internships, and/or professional experience.
Graduating in Fall/Winter of 2026 or Spring/Summer of 2027.

Preferred

Hands-on experience from industry or collegiate vehicle/robotics competitions in fluid systems, high-voltage systems, electronics, or instrumentation (e.g., pressure transducers, thermocouples, solenoid valves, accelerometers, etc.).
Strong foundation in solid mechanics, fluid dynamics, electrical circuits, manufacturing processes, dynamics and controls, heat transfer, and thermodynamics.
Ability to collect, process, and review complex engineering datasets in tabular or graphical forms to extract relevant trends or failure modes.
Understanding of electromechanical devices, gear trains, actuators, motors, valves, pumps, regulators, filters, and explosives.
Success in academics at a rigorous and highly regarded university: minimum GPA of 3.5/4.0 or higher, standardized test scores in the minimum 95th percentile, merit-based scholarship recipient.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
Ability to work extended hours and weekends as necessary.