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Electric Propulsion Engineer, Mechanical (Starshield)

SpaceX· Starshield Satellite Engineering
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Full-timePosted 2mo ago

About the role

Electric Propulsion Engineer to design, analyze, build, and test flight-qualified satellite electric propulsion systems for Starshield, SpaceX’s government-focused Starlink program. End-to-end hardware ownership from design through production support and qualification for high-reliability space propulsion hardware.

Responsibilities

  • Design, analyze, test, and provide operational support for high-volume production spacecraft electric propulsion hardware
  • Partner with manufacturing to enable efficient, reliable, high-rate production
  • Design, build, modify, operate, and troubleshoot electric propulsion test facilities (vacuum chambers, pressure systems, cryogenic pumps, data acquisition/control, instrumentation)
  • Analyze and review test data with numerical tools to confirm hardware performance and inform design decisions
  • Lead root-cause investigations and component redesigns to improve reliability and production rates
  • Develop and execute qualification test plans for flight readiness (vibration, shock, thermal cycling, life cycle, fault injection)
  • Make rigorous, risk-informed trades across cost, lead time, reliability, and performance to meet program targets
  • Own critical spaceflight hardware end-to-end with cross-functional support
  • Collaborate in an integrated team environment and implement design/process improvements
  • Communicate clearly under ambiguity, escalate risks early, and collaborate through disagreement

Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree in mechanical, aerospace, physics, or other engineering discipline
  • 3+ years total experience in design, testing, and analysis of electric propulsion systems or related spacecraft propulsion/EP hardware

Skills

Required:Electrical propulsion hardware design and testing

Benefits

  • Comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage
  • 401(k) retirement plan
  • Short/long-term disability insurance
  • Life insurance
  • Paid parental leave
  • Paid vacation and holidays (3 weeks vacation, 10+ paid holidays)
  • Employee stock purchase plan with potential stock-based incentives
  • Discretionary bonuses and long-term incentives (stock or cash)
  • Discounts and other perks
  • Potential 10% differential for active clearance (up to $20,000 annually)
Last updated Jul 29, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.

About SpaceX

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