Sr. Launch Engineer, Stage 0 Propellant Generation (Starship)

Responsibilities

• Analyze, design, and build systems that support critical rocket launches and testing
• Cradle-to-grave project ownership through hosting design reviews, project decision justification, equipment procurement, and coordination and assistance of the construction of your ideas
• Apply interdisciplinary engineering skills in fields of system-level process design and initial sizing, detailed pressurized fluid and thermal analysis, structural engineering, materials and component selection and cost/schedule optimization
• Work directly with technicians and support groups to build your designs, and fix real-world problems on the fly
• Maintain a tight feedback loop with operation and construction teams to rapidly alter plans as necessary to meet tight deadlines
• Activate Commission and troubleshoot equipment to achieve design objectives and iterate system maintenance strategies to reduce future downtime
• Provide innovative solutions to problems under minimal supervision or direction
• Provide hands-on approach to tackling daily field projects necessary to keep the company launching rockets

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, aerospace engineering, or other engineering discipline
• 5+ years of hands-on build or design experience

Preferred Skills And Experience

• Experience with quick-thinking and problem solving in time-critical situations
• Collaborative team player, enthusiastic, self-motivated, with a positive can-do attitude
• Acute attention to detail, ability to see interactions with other systems to avoid problems
• Creative and passionate approach to addressing opportunities and challenges while balancing cost and schedule
• Strong fundamental intuition of fluid and/or structural/mechanical systems
• Ability to see and design for reliability, efficiency, and maintainability from scratch
• General hands-on experience; automotive, machining, welding, and other fabrication techniques is a plus
• Ability to work independently as well as part of a team, take initiative, and communicate effectively
• Ability to rapidly change roles/responsibilities while maintaining a high sense of urgency in a high-paced, challenging work environment
• Ability to verify designs with simplified hand calculations; experience in finite element analysis or computational fluid dynamics is a plus
• 3+ years of mechanical, fluids, or thermal design experience in an industrial setting or equivalent
• Experience with instrumentation, testing, data review and analysis, verification against an analytical model
• Experience with high pressure and cryogenic fluid systems and components and operations
• Experience producing drawings for fabrication
• Intermediate skill level using CAD (NX a plus)
• American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) piping and pressure vessel design experience

Additional Requirements

• Ability to respond to emergencies to support priority projects, missions, and launches
• Able to pass Air Force background check for Cape Canaveral
• Able to work extended hours and weekends as needed; flexibility is required
• Able to work in extreme outdoor environments when needed – heat, cold, wind, rain, etc.
• Able to work in an environment requiring exposure to fumes, odors, and noise
• Able to work on ladders, lifts, and at elevated heights (up to 300 feet) with proper personal protective equipment (PPE)
• Able to lift heavy objects up to 25 lbs. unassisted
• Willingness to travel to other SpaceX sites and vendors- up to 15%

Qualifications

• U.S. citizen or national
• U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder)
• Refugee under 8 U.S.C.1157
• Asylee under 8 U.S.C.1158