SpaceX - Brownsville, TX
posted 3 months ago
As a Senior Mechanical Engineer on the Crew Starship team at SpaceX, you will play a pivotal role in the design and development of spacecraft systems that are essential for the success and safety of future astronauts. This position is focused on the Crew Starship, a vehicle that aims to facilitate human exploration of the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Your responsibilities will encompass a wide range of engineering tasks, including the design of primary and secondary structures, mechanisms, and crew-interfacing hardware. You will be expected to take full ownership of hardware, guiding it from initial design requirements and concepts through to design, analysis, prototype, qualification, and integration phases. This role is critical as it directly impacts the future missions of Crew Starship, including lunar and Martian expeditions. In this fast-paced environment, you will be responsible for owning the design and development of next-generation structures and mechanisms for the Crew Starship vehicles. You will perform hand calculations and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) to assess and optimize your designs, ensuring they meet the rigorous demands of space travel. Collaboration with interdisciplinary teams will be essential to ensure that your hardware integrates seamlessly with Starship systems and supports mission operations. You will lead design reviews with both internal teams and external stakeholders, including suppliers and customers such as NASA, and will be tasked with negotiating complex trade studies to optimize for cost, schedule, safety, and performance. Your role will also involve managing project delivery timelines from early design through to production, launch, and recovery, exemplifying technical excellence and accountability for your work. This position requires a strong foundation in mechanical design and analysis, as well as the ability to make data-driven decisions quickly in a dynamic environment.