Principal Mechanical Engineer, Consumer Hardware (Starlink)

$165,000 - $230,000/Yr

SpaceX - Bastrop, TX

Full-time - Principal

Bastrop, TX

Transportation Equipment Manufacturing

About the position

At SpaceX, we are leveraging our experience in building rockets and spacecraft to deploy Starlink, the world's most advanced broadband internet system. Starlink is the world's largest satellite constellation, providing fast, reliable internet to over 2 million users worldwide. We design, build, test, and operate all parts of the system, including thousands of satellites, consumer terminals that allow users to connect within minutes of unboxing, and the software that integrates everything. We have only begun to scratch the surface of Starlink's potential global impact and are looking for best-in-class engineers to help maximize Starlink's utility for communities and businesses around the globe. As a Principal Mechanical Engineer for Starlink, you will be part of a team that is hyper-focused on high-volume consumer products shipped directly to customers worldwide. You will design hardware that is both technically sophisticated and user-friendly. Our customers include teachers in remote areas, researchers in Antarctica, digital nomads, emergency responders, commercial airlines, cruise lines, and residential users in rural or developing regions. In this role, you will lead creative, multi-disciplinary projects that encompass designing both the consumer products and the factories that manufacture them, ushering in the next era of the internet and delivering it to those who need it most.

Responsibilities

• Design Starlink consumer hardware from conceptualization through public launch and high-volume production ramp
• Develop design criteria, collaborate on requirements, and drive system-level optimizations
• Execute key technology and material developments to drive significant impacts to product performance, cost, and user experience
• Perform field reliability testing and iterate on hardware to achieve high in-field performance in harsh environments and use cases
• Design and develop state-of-the-art production lines that manufacture your product, including assembly, joining, test cells, process development, control system design, automation programming, and more
• Refine the production system to create high-rate, high-yield, and high-uptime processes
• Establish an efficient product lifecycle starting in the supply chain all the way through final integration that balances cost, complexity, and quality; work closely with partner teams to design and realize an efficient in-house production line

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline
• Strong experience with CAD and FEA software packages
• 8+ years of experience with mechanical/electromechanical design, analysis, testing, and/or manufacturing
• Professional experience working on the full-lifecycle design of a consumer-facing product

Nice-to-haves

• Industry leader in pushing the limits of innovative consumer product design
• Master's degree in engineering or a related technical discipline
• Experience taking multiple consumer-facing products through their full life cycle (from design to market)
• 5+ 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
• Proficient in 3D CAD (NX preferred)
• Solid understanding and application of GD&T, mechanical engineering fundamentals, 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
• Strong expertise in various manufacturing processes and how to design for high volume manufacturability and assembly
• Exposure to a variety of production machinery, industrial sensors, and equipment (motion systems, dispense systems, temperature controllers, laser distance sensors, injection molders, die casters, etc.)
• Automated machine design experience
• Self-motivated with strong organizational, written, and oral communication skills
• Strong ability to use data and analysis to make fast data-driven decisions
• Ability to perform trade studies and make clear recommendations using first principles and engineering fundamentals even with partial information
• Demonstrated rapid growth with successive positions of increasing responsibility

Benefits

• Life insurance
• Paid parental leave
• Paid holidays
• Sick time
• 401(k) retirement plan
• Stock options