Sr. Propulsion Engineer, Foundry (Raptor)

SR. PROPULSION ENGINEER, FOUNDRY (RAPTOR) 

As a Raptor engineer at SpaceX you will have the opportunity to apply your knowledge, experience, and creativity to develop hardware at the cutting edge of space technology. You will build the engines that will ultimately extend humanity’s reach beyond the earth and moon. In this role, you will be responsible for casting design, development, and production in the Raptor foundry.  

RESPONSIBILITIES: 

• Own parts and processes in the Raptor foundry operation. 
• Work closely with shop floor team on production process improvement projects to increase throughput, improve quality, and reduce cost.  
• Lead routine process walks and root cause investigations to identify and quickly resolve production issues. 
• Utilize design for manufacturability (DFM) principles and work closely with design engineers to reduce cost on new and existing investment cast parts. 
• Apply first principles and utilize simulation software to develop and iterate gating designs for investment cast parts. 
• Manage the development and process control of foundry equipment, including large-format 3D printers, robotic ceramic shelling systems, vacuum induction melting furnaces, and other heavy machinery. 
• Develop and maintain systems to efficiently collect and analyze process data while minimizing collection/entry burden. 
• Identify and implement safety improvements throughout the foundry. 
• Develop and create standard procedures for novel processing techniques to minimize manufacturing steps and overall work content. 
• Work within an extremely fast paced environment and adapt to evolving design and production challenges. 
• Demonstrate extreme ownership over foundry success: from initial development of new parts to full-rate production. 

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS: 

• Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, or other engineering discipline. 
• 5+ years of professional experience in a manufacturing environment/role. 

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE: 

• Master’s degree in materials, chemical, mechanical, aerospace, or manufacturing engineering. 
• 3+ years of experience in the production of investment castings. 
• Knowledge of metallic manufacturing techniques, processes, equipment and other processes such as: machining, welding, and brazing. 
• Experience with the development of products from R&D into production. 
• Process engineering experience including root cause analysis and corrective action management, capacity modeling, process mapping, and line layouts in a high-volume manufacturing environment. 
• Strong engineering fundamentals in materials science and metallurgy.  
• Non-destructive testing (NDT/NDE/NDI) experience. 
• CAD experience (NX & Teamcenter is a plus). 
• Geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) experience. 
• FEA software experience. 
• Software development experience in SQL, Python or C#. 

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Ability to travel – up to 10%

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:                          

Pay range: 

Propulsion Engineer/Senior: $125,000.00 - $175,000.00/per year             

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, stock options, 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. Exempt employees are eligible for 5 days of sick leave per year.