Build Reliability Engineer (Starship)

SpaceX
Hawthorne, CA$100k – $115kPosted 23 March 2026

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. BUILD RELIABILITY ENGINEER (STARSHIP) The Build Reliability organization at SpaceX is an inclusive, inter-disciplinary team that is committed to the reliability of flight components and production assemblies. Take on challenges across a wide range of different hardware to improve reliability and eliminate escape paths to meet company goals. Your breadth of hardware ownership as a Build Reliability Engineer will be immense as you collaborate with other core groups at SpaceX across production, design and manufacturing. You will employ “reliability by any means necessary”, stretching your expertise in engineering problems solving, fabrication methods, tooling design, inspection procedures, and data gathering/visualization. You will build new processes from the ground up, and routinely grade/improve execution of existing processes and ultimately be responsible for build-induced vehicle risk. As SpaceX pushes the boundaries you will need to deep dive problems to understand the root cause and implement robust corrective actions. Must thrive in a hands-on environment as you look to execute on the mission to make humanity interplanetary. RESPONSIBILITIES: Problem solving and eliminate novel failure modes, requiring in depth knowledge and ownership to understand the root cause of the problem as well as drive robust corrective actions Develop a multitude of different processes including manufacturing, integration, assembly, welding, NDE, cleanliness, and checkouts processes from the ground up, then enforce consistency across different work centers Identify current reliability gaps in the manufacturing/design process, contain suspect hardware that has escaped downstream and fix future problems with corrective actions to maintain safe flight Responsible partner with design engineering and manufacturing teams through product development and production to create quality plans for flight hardware, including identification of key characteristics, prototype testing for functionality and manufacturability, first article and detailed inspection planning, and consideration of past failures and lessons learned Monitor the success of products and processes through production ramp-up using a suite of quality and analysis tools Lead work center wide initiatives to improve build quality and enable the team to make data driven decisions to increase overall manufacturability, improve reliability and eliminate escapes Complete projects on a wide range of subjects including test creation, design and implement tooling for work access, mechanical/avionics/propulsion testing, build fixturing. BASIC QUALIFICATIONS: Bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline or physics 1+ years in a manufacturing, quality and/or design engineering role (student project team or internship experience qualifies) PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE: Experience with the build, assembly, or integration of structures, avionics, valves, fluid system components, actuators, thermal protection systems, or other aerospace components Strong interpersonal and collaborative skills, enthusiasm for the team’s spirit of innovation and mission of improving reliability in cutting-edge technology Master’s degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, materials engineering, or electrical engineering Demonstrated application of process controls in high volume manufacturing, test, and quality environment Knowledge of welding requirements, demonstrated experience implementing process improvements for welding processes and implementing process controls for both automated and manual welding processes Knowledge of quality tools such as Lean principles, measurement systems analysis, design of experi ... (truncated, view full listing at source)
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