Mechanical Engineer, Satellites; Starlink

Mechanical Engineer, Satellites (Starlink)

SpaceX is developing technologies to make human life on Mars possible. Today, SpaceX is building rockets and spacecraft to deploy thousands of satellites each year for its Starlink constellation, providing broadband-quality internet anywhere on earth. We're looking for world-class engineers to help this mission.

As a mechanical design engineer within the satellite vehicle engineering organization, you will solve complex structural, thermal, and electromechanical problems on the various space grade hardware that make our satellites come to life. Our engineers get to own the full design lifecycle all the way from ideation, design, and test, through to manufacturing and large scale production. You will regularly partner with a wide variety of different cross functional engineering disciplines, and together you will democratize internet access all over the world.

There are several sub-teams within the larger vehicle engineering group, each with a different focus area. Applicants will be considered broadly for all teams and then matched to a specific one after factoring in best technical fit, team need, and candidate preference.

• Mechanisms Team: end to end electromechanical design for the actuators, reaction wheels, torque rods, solar arrays, etc.
• Space Lasers Team: work in partnership with the optical team design opto-mechanical assemblies for our industry leading Space Lasers and other optical payloads.
• Bus Avionics Team: partner with the Bus electrical engineers, design for anything from mechanical avionics modules, thermal, structural, new component selection, harnessing, integration to satellites, etc.
• Structural Team: design and analysis of the satellite primary structure, e.g. chassis, ribs, rails, and propulsion tank
• Solar Arrays Team: work on the most prolific space solar design/factory in the world. Design work ranges from flight array to test and production machine design; as well as thermal/electrical/material interfaces with other groups
• Battery Packs Team: mechanical design, thermal, and electrical analysis on the in-house battery packs with thousands of individual battery cells, emphasizing mass-efficient and runaway-resistant architectures.

Your placement on these teams will be determined throughout the interviewing process after factoring in technical fit, expertise, team need, and your personal preference.

Responsibilities include owning hardware from conceptual design through high volume production and on-orbit operation for the Starlink constellation, developing design criteria, collaborating on requirements, driving system-level optimization, rapidly iterating on designs and analysis, driving holistic DFM, establishing an efficient product lifecycle, performing environmental and performance testing on hardware, owning product delivery timeline, and demonstrating extreme ownership of product outcomes at every stage of development and production.

Basic qualifications include a Bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline, experience with CAD and FEA software packages, and 1+ years of professional experience (including internships) with mechanical/electromechanical design, analysis, testing, and/or manufacturing.

Preferred skills and experience include a Master's degree in engineering or a related technical discipline, 3+ years of professional experience in mechanical design and analysis, 2+ years of hands-on project experience with complex mechanical systems, preferably as a team lead, proficiency in 3D CAD (NX preferred), solid understanding and application of GD&T, demonstrated understanding of structural analysis and failure modes of complex mechanical systems, prior ownership of a complex component or assembly from initial design through high-volume production ramp, and self-motivated with strong organizational, written, and oral communication skills.

Some preferred skills and experience depend on the specific team within Starlink mechanical engineering, and may include knowledge of and experience in selecting materials, manufacturing methods, and surface treatments for mechanical components, proficiency in one or more programming languages, experience working with PCB designers and exposure to PCB layout and PCBA mechanical design, experience with design of experiments, statistical process control, and process qualification, and specific expertise applicable to any of the above sub-teams.

Additional requirements include the ability to work long hours and weekends as necessary to support mission critical milestones.

Compensation and benefits include a pay range of $ - $ for Level 1 and $ - $ for Level 2, comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, short and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, paid parental leave, various other discounts and perks, 3 weeks of paid vacation, and 10 or more paid holidays per year.

Employees in Washington State accrue paid sick time in compliance with state and federal law.…