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.
PROPULSION ENGINEER (DRAGON)
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Own piece parts and assembled propulsion and/or environmental and thermal sub-systems throughout the manufacturing process with a focus on delivery to meet Dragon rate and USDV delivery timelines while maintaining safety and part quality
- Develop and qualify new processes to take products from design to production
- Resolve manufacturing discrepancies for all owned parts and processes by collaborating with the design engineering, production, and quality teams
- Support day-to-day production of assemblies, high-pressure testing, and integration of hardware
- Identify, plan, and execute capital equipment, machine, and layout upgrades to the meet volume production demand
- Find and eliminate process waste, streamline production processes, and enable continuous improvement
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:
- Bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline or physics
- 1+ years of hands-on experience driving the design, building, testing, manufacturing, or development of mechanical components or systems
PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:
- Master's degree in aerospace, mechanical, systems, or manufacturing engineering
- Experience with design for manufacturability and assembly
- Experience with welding, machining, and coating process
- Knowledge of principles of chemistry, engineering, fluid dynamics, and mechanics of materials
- Experience conducting pressure and leak testing using instrumentation such as helium mass spectrometers, flow meters, pressure transducers, and thermocouples
- Experience with capacity modeling, process mapping, and fault analysis
- Experience performing pareto analysis, root cause and corrective action experience
- Experience performing PFMEAs
- Familiarity with CAD and geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) experience
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
- Position may require extended work hours and weekend work
- Position requires working directly with hardware on the floor for extended periods of time
Pay Range:
Level 1: $100,000.00 - $130,000.00
Level 2: $115,000.00 - $160,000.00
Your actual level and base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills, education, and experience.
Base salary is just one part of your total rewards package at SpaceX. You may also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the form of company stock or long-term cash awards, as well as potential discretionary bonuses and the ability to purchase additional stock at a discount through an Employee Stock Purchase Plan. You will also receive access to comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, short and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, paid parental leave, and various other discounts and perks. You may also accrue 3 weeks of paid vacation and will be eligible for 10 or more paid holidays per year. Employees accrue paid sick leave pursuant to Company policy which satisfies or exceeds the accrual, carryover, and use requirements of the law.
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 or physics
- At least 1 year of hands-on experience designing, building, testing, manufacturing, or developing mechanical components or systems
- U.S. citizenship or nationality, lawful permanent residency, refugee or asylee status, or eligibility to obtain required U.S. Department of State authorizations under ITAR
- Master's degree in aerospace, mechanical, systems, or manufacturing engineering
- Experience with design for manufacturability and assembly
- Experience with welding, machining, and coating processes
- Knowledge of chemistry, engineering, fluid dynamics, and mechanics of materials
- Experience with pressure and leak testing using instrumentation such as helium mass spectrometers, flow meters, pressure transducers, and thermocouples
- Experience with capacity modeling, process mapping, fault analysis, Pareto analysis, root cause analysis, corrective action, or PFMEAs
- Familiarity with CAD and geometric dimensioning and tolerancing
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.
