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.
The Starmind Compute team designs training and inference compute clusters from first principles, pushing thermal, electrical, and optical systems to the limit of physics. We operate as a highly cross disciplinary team comprised of mechanical, electrical, optical, and software engineers, all working to maximize the efficiency, reliability, and deployment speed of terrestrial computing to serve rapidly scaling demand.
This team owns compute architecture, datacenter network design, rack builds, connectivity, in-house design of our own computers, and the manufacturing line that builds that compute. As a Rack Design Engineer, you will own the rack as a product: structure, power, cooling, service paths, and the physical integration of servers, switches, optics, and liquid cooling from first sketch through production rate.
RESPONSIBILITIES:- Own mechanical, structural, and integration design of high-density AI compute racks and associated chassis, frames, busbars, manifolds, and cable/fiber raceways
- Integrate compute, networking, power distribution, and liquid cooling into a buildable, serviceable, high-yield rack architecture
- Design for the in-house manufacturing line: DFM/DFA, fixtures, work instructions, incoming inspection, first article, and production ramp
- Close thermal, structural, and power constraints with cooling, electrical, optical, and network counterparts at the cluster level (CDUs, cold plates, quick disconnects, PDUs/busbars, high-current distribution, tray and bend-radius limits)
- Drive vendor and in-house parts from concept to qualified production, including sheet metal, extrusions, busbar, manifolds, cable management, and rack accessories
- Stand on the floor during prototype and production builds: debug fit, leak, cable dress, airflow/liquid balance, and service time; fold issues into the next revision the same day
- Produce and maintain CAD, BOMs, drawings, and build documentation that a line can run at volume
- Support cluster deployment of the racks you design, including first-site bring-up and feedback into the next hardware generation
- Partner with network, optical, electrical, and firmware teams to deploy custom compute for inference and training across SpaceX programs
- Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, or another engineering discipline
- 2+ years of professional experience designing electromechanical hardware that was built and shipped (internship and project experience counts toward this if the hardware was physically produced)
- Ownership of rack, chassis, or similarly dense electromechanical products through prototype and production
- Experience or background in ethernet switching, networking, interconnects, high power distribution, and other relevant data center technologies
- CAD fluency in SolidWorks, Creo, or NX, with released drawings a shop and a factory can build from
- AI / HPC / GPU rack design: NVIDIA HGX/GB-class, custom OCP, or equivalent high-power liquid-cooled compute
- Liquid cooling design: cold plates, manifolds, CDUs, quick disconnects, leak detection, and coolant compatibility
- High-power rack electrical integration: busbar, PDU, 48V, high-current 3-phase, grounding, and service safety
- Cable and fiber physical design inside the rack (MPO/OSFP dress, bend radius, service loops) in partnership with optical and network engineers
- Experience taking a rack from NPI onto an in-house manufacturing line (fixtures, cycle time, poka-yoke, rework loops)
- Thermal and structural analysis (CFD, FEA) used to make a design decision
- Time at a high-velocity hardware organization: AI/GPU cloud, custom compute, or an OEM/ODM team that owned the product end to end
- Comfort in a factory or datacenter build environment, including first articles, yield, and hardware debug on the floor
- Must be willing to work extended hours and weekends as needed to support design releases, line bring-up, and cluster deployments
- Must be willing to travel up to 30% to manufacturing and datacenter sites
- Ability to lift up to 25 lbs. unassisted and work around active factory and datacenter hardware
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 mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, or another engineering discipline
- 2+ years of professional experience designing electromechanical hardware that was built and shipped; internship and project experience counts if hardware was physically produced
- Willingness to work extended hours and weekends as needed
- Willingness to travel up to 30% to manufacturing and datacenter sites
- Ability to lift up to 25 pounds unassisted and work around active factory and datacenter hardware
- U.S. citizenship, lawful permanent residency, refugee or asylee status, or eligibility to obtain required ITAR authorizations
- Experience owning rack, chassis, or dense electromechanical products through prototype and production
- Experience with Ethernet switching, networking, interconnects, high-power distribution, and data center technologies
- CAD fluency in SolidWorks, Creo, or NX with released manufacturing drawings
- AI, HPC, GPU rack design experience, including NVIDIA HGX/GB-class, custom OCP, or equivalent systems
- Liquid cooling design experience with cold plates, manifolds, CDUs, quick disconnects, leak detection, and coolant compatibility
- High-power rack electrical integration experience with busbars, PDUs, 48V, high-current three-phase power, grounding, and service safety
- Cable and fiber physical design experience, including MPO/OSFP routing, bend radius, and service loops
- Experience taking a rack from new product introduction onto an in-house manufacturing line
- Thermal and structural analysis experience using CFD and FEA
- Experience at a high-velocity hardware organization, AI/GPU cloud, custom compute company, OEM, or ODM
- Experience working in factory or datacenter build environments with first articles, yield, and hardware debugging
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.
