SpaceX was founded under the belief that a future where humanity is out exploring the stars is fundamentally more exciting than one where we are not. Today SpaceX is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal of enabling human life on Mars.
INTEGRATION AND TEST ENGINEER, AI SATELLITES (STARMIND)
SpaceX is leveraging its experience deploying and operating the world’s largest satellite constellation to develop Starmind, a new constellation of satellites capturing solar energy in space to power low-cost, high-performance AI compute for Earth. Realizing this vision demands highly reliable, high performance electrical compute hardware, solar power systems, thermal radiators, and more. These systems must operate in the extreme environment of space while delivering the connectivity, control, power distribution, and processing needed for orbital AI inference.
The Starmind team designs, builds, and operates the orbital compute fabric of the future. We develop nearly every key piece of technology in house – from the satellites’ flight computers and power systems to the fully custom compute electronics, memory, and networking that form the brain of our on-orbit data centers. As a Integration & Test Engineer on the Starmind team, you’ll have ownership over the entire manufacturing line for the hardware that enables advanced on-orbit AI processing and data center workloads. Your work spans the assembly, integration, and testing of industry-leading compute electronics, memory, and networking in order to achieve required domain sizes and processing workloads.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Manage physical infrastructure of test integration and operations
- Mechanical design of infrastructure and tooling for test integration and operations
- Evaluate proposed designs for manufacturability and integration
- Interface with both engineers, specialists, and technicians to optimize testing operations
- New vehicle integration into new and existing infrastructure
- Enable day-to-day execution of vehicle integration and test flow to serve our customers
- Evaluate non-conformances to determine root cause and create actionable items and system improvements
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:
- Bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline
- 1+ years of design and/or hands-on manufacturing experience (internships/project experience is applicable)
PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:
- Master's degree in an engineering discipline
- Experience with MATLAB, Python, or another programming language
- Experience with integration and testing of propulsion, thermal, electrical and/or structural systems
- Experience integrating avionics systems
- Proficiency in NX/CATIA/SolidWorks or any industry standard CAD design tools
- Experience writing test plans, procedures, and providing go/no-go judgment and rationale
- Experience in a production environment
- Documentation and configuration management experience
- Demonstrated engineering intuition, critical thinking, and comfort with ambiguity
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
- Some travel to other SpaceX sites may be required as needed, up to 15%
- Must be willing to work extended hours and/or weekends as needed to meet mission-critical deadlines
- This position is very hands-on and requires one to be on their feet for extended periods of time, up to 4 hours at a time
- Will often work side by side with our technicians and must be able to climb ladders, stoop, bend, crawl, and work in tight spaces
ITAR REQUIREMENTS:
- To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.
SpaceX is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with SpaceX is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.
Applicants wishing to view a copy of SpaceX’s Affirmative Action Plan for veterans and individuals with disabilities, or applicants requiring reasonable accommodation to the application/interview process should reach out to [email protected].
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline
- At least 1 year of design and/or hands-on manufacturing experience; internships and project experience are applicable
- U.S. citizenship, lawful permanent residency, refugee/asylee status, or eligibility to obtain required ITAR authorizations
- Master's degree in an engineering discipline
- Experience with MATLAB, Python, or another programming language
- Experience integrating and testing propulsion, thermal, electrical, or structural systems
- Experience integrating avionics systems
- Proficiency with NX, CATIA, SolidWorks, or industry-standard CAD tools
- Experience writing test plans and procedures and providing go/no-go judgments
- Experience in a production environment
- Documentation and configuration management experience
- Willingness to work extended hours and weekends as needed
- Ability to stand for extended periods and climb, stoop, bend, crawl, and work in tight spaces
SpaceX Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about SpaceX and has not been reviewed or approved by SpaceX.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Equity grants are a core part of total compensation, with periodic company-run tender offers that create liquidity before any public listing. These mechanisms can make the equity component feel materially valuable in practice.
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Healthcare Strength — The package includes comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, with on-site clinics and health resources at major sites. This breadth of coverage is presented as a strong element of the offering.
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Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits — Major locations feature on-site amenities such as fitness facilities, food/coffee, clinics, and other conveniences. These lifestyle perks enhance day-to-day value alongside cash and equity.
SpaceX Insights
What We Do
SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches the world’s most advanced rockets and spacecraft. The company was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk to revolutionize space transportation, with the ultimate goal of making life multiplanetary. SpaceX has gained worldwide attention for a series of historic milestones. It is the only private company ever to return a spacecraft from low-Earth orbit, which it first accomplished in December 2010. The company made history again in May 2012 when its Dragon spacecraft attached to the International Space Station, exchanged cargo payloads, and returned safely to Earth — a technically challenging feat previously accomplished only by governments. Since then Dragon has delivered cargo to and from the space station multiple times, providing regular cargo resupply missions for NASA.
