Design Reliability Engineer (Crew Starship)
SpaceX· Aerospace· Sep 28, 2026 · 1mo ago
Hawthorne, CA · Starbase, TX
In office
Full-time
Principal
$115K–$160K
1+ years exp
Job description
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. DESIGN RELIABILITY ENGINEER (CREW STARSHIP)
After 50 years, humankind will once again return to surface of the moon using SpaceX’s new vehicle, the Human Landing System (HLS) – this time for good. Leveraging the lessons learned from our flight proven Dragon spacecraft, Falcon and now Starship, HLS will usher in the next era of manned spaceflight and exploration, ultimately allowing us to establish permanent communities on the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
The HLS Design Reliability team is responsible for ensuring that flight hardware and concepts-of-operations lead to successful completion of missions while meeting or exceeding both internal and external design requirements. We perform a unique engineering role, evaluating and guiding engineering designs from concept to flight. We facilitate cross-disciplinary action and problem-solving across all SpaceX programs and staff.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
Develop design criteria, requirements, and verification approaches for new systems.
Ensure that the SpaceX design process & design criteria/requirements are being followed for flight, launch, and/or recovery systems, including:
Provide critical peer review and approval of hardware designs during design reviews, and of acceptance and qualification test campaigns.
Drive improvements to vehicle design through close integration with hardware teams.
Perform verification reviews hardware and systems.
Ensure that the customer design criteria/requirements are addressed for flight systems, including:
Lead spacecraft certification efforts through direct interaction with U.S. Government customers.
Tailor and negotiating requirements and verifications to meet program goals.
Review vehicle changes to ensure qualification compliance.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:
Bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline.
1+ years professional experience in fabrication, assembly, and/or testing.
PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:
Master's degree in an engineering discipline.
Experience with aircraft, launch vehicles, spacecraft, or other aerospace systems.
Experience with aircraft, launch vehicle, or spacecraft requirements and standards.
Experience with standards and requirement negotiation.
Excellent customer interface skills.
Experience with at least one commercial FEA package (NASTRAN, ABAQUS, or ANSYS).
Hands on experience with various industry standard manufacturing tools, techniques and processes, including mills, lathes, electronics assembly, composite layup, etc.
Scripting and data analysis experience using Visual Basic, Matlab, Python and Excel.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
Must be available to work long hours and weekends as necessary.
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS: 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 EEOCompliance@spacex.com .
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Benefits
Benefits detected in the listing.
Dental
Vision
401(K)
Parental Leave