Life Support Engineer (Crew Starship)

LIFE SUPPORT ENGINEER (CREW STARSHIP)

After 50 years, humankind will once again return to surface of the moon using SpaceX’s Crew Starship (also known as HLS or the Human Landing System) – this time for good. Leveraging the lessons learned from our flight proven Dragon spacecraft and Falcon rocket, Starship will usher in the next era of manned spaceflight and exploration, ultimately allowing us to establish permanent communities on the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

As a Life Support Engineer at SpaceX, you will have the opportunity to utilize your knowledge, experience, and creativity to develop novel solutions at the cutting edge of space technology. This team develops the necessary hardware to maintain environmental and thermal control as well as support life onboard the Starship spacecraft. This role is a challenging role, as it involves design, analysis, testing, and manufacturing of components that are absolutely critical to the safety of future astronauts and passengers.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Own the conceptualization, design, and build of creative life support and thermal control systems for all Crew Starship missions, including Mars missions, across disciplines such as fans and air distribution, air sanitation, water collection and reclamation, waste management, fire suppression, and active thermal control
• Rapidly iterate on manufacturing processes and development testing in a fast-paced environment
• Be responsible for project delivery timeline from early design through production, launch, and recovery
• Lead design reviews internally and externally with suppliers and customers
• Work with interdisciplinary customers to ensure the component will integrate with the necessary avionics, software, mission operations, etcetera 
• Ensure designs are manufacturable and reliable
• Exemplify technical excellence and be accountable for your own work

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in an engineering or science discipline
• 1+ years of experience working with fluid systems, mechanical systems, environmental control systems, or components (internship and project team experience is applicable)

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Proactive problem-solving skills such as failure analysis, root cause investigation, and design of experiment creation
• Ability to perform trade studies using first principles and engineering fundamentals to make clear recommendations even with partial information
• Experience with rotating machinery
• Experienced in NX
• Solid understanding and application of geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) and tolerance stack-up analysis
• Experience with structural analysis methods (hand calcs, FEMAP, ANSYS) in order to optimize hardware to strength requirements as well as to evaluate for life and fracture
• Knowledge of metallic and fluid system manufacturing techniques, processes, equipment, and other processes such as machining, welding, brazing, tube bending, etc.
• Experience with selection of materials considering engineering properties, manufacturing, and fluid compatibility
• Able to work well in an integrated collaborative team environment, including frequent interactions with technicians, other engineers, and managers
• Highly self-motivated with strong organizational and written/oral communication skills – able to prioritize and execute tasks in a high-pressure environment with the ongoing drive for continuous improvement in all aspects of work
• Master’s degree in an engineering discipline

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Must be willing to work long hours and weekends as needed
• Ability to pass Air Force background checks for Cape Canaveral

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:

Pay range:
Life Support Engineer/Level 1: $95,000.00 - $115,000.00/per year
Life Support Engineer/Level 2: $110,000.00 - $130,000.00/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 & long-term disability insurance, life insurance, paid parental leave, and various other discounts and perks. You may also accrue 3 weeks of paid vacation & will be eligible for 10 or more paid holidays per year.