Lead Manufacturing Engineer (Starlink Injection Molding)

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.

LEAD MANUFACTURING ENGINEER (STARLINK INJECTION MOLDING)

As a Lead Manufacturing Engineer at SpaceX, you will have the opportunity to utilize your knowledge, experience and creativity to develop novel solutions at the cutting edge of technology. SpaceX is developing a low latency, broadband internet system to meet the needs of consumers across the globe. Enabled by a constellation of low Earth orbit satellites, Starlink will provide fast, reliable internet to populations with little or no connectivity, including those in rural communities and places where existing services are too expensive or unreliable.

We are looking for a talented lead engineer to take ownership of the high-performance production line in Bastrop, TX and the team of engineers and specialists supporting it through end of product life. In parallel, you would support development efforts and provide design for manufacturability feedback for the next gen products and production lines currently in design. 

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Lead a team of manufacturing engineers responsible for development of plastic injection molding and high pressure die casting manufacturing processes for Starlink hardware
• Implement plug-and-play processes to production that are capable of high-volume throughput (1M+ per year)
• Align department initiatives with the goals and responsibilities of the manufacturing engineering team
• Lead overall manufacturing development strategy for the areas under ownership for key metrics: quality, delivery, and cost
• Actively measure team’s performance against these metrics
• Manage team’s technical documentation strategy and ensure records are up-to-date
• Manage and mentor other manufacturing engineers and interns on the team
• Evaluate project scope according to team’s skillset including labor and resourcing estimation
• Oversee team’s recruiting activities
• Take direct ownership of the physical production layout, optimizing for material flow from material receiving through processes on the line
• Manage strategy for production line tooling, inventory, training and build process and ensure all are updated according to the latest design configuration
• Responsible for influencing design to increase product manufacturability
• Drive design for test (DFT) best practices and design for manufacturing (DFM) with design engineers and test engineers
• Identify automation opportunities and establish requirements as well as evaluating return on investment for each
• Work with in-house resources or vendors as necessary to develop these solutions and implement on production line
• Support production line with technical issues that cannot be addressed immediately on the line

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in aerospace, mechanical, systems, electrical, or manufacturing engineering
• 1+ years of direct leadership experience or project leadership scope

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Master's degree in an engineering discipline
• Previous experience leading team of high performing engineers and/or specialists
• Ability to design tooling for high volume manufacturing
• Ability to develop and maintain high performing suppliers and contract manufacturers
• Experience working in a highly adaptive and iterative environment
• Experience implementing automation into production processes
• Experience transitioning products from design to manufacturing and scaling to high volume as part of a cross-functional team
• Experience with design of experiments, gauge repeatability and reproducibility, and process qualifications
• Experience defining production data requirements and statistical process control
• Experience integrating electromechanical assemblies with both manual and automated processes
• Experience with NX and Teamcenter
• Experience working with and defining requirements for ERP, MRP and MES systems

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Willing and able to work extended hours and/or weekends with minimal notification to meet critical deadlines
• Able to travel - 10% on an ongoing basis

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:      

Pay range:      
Manufacturing Engineer/Lead: $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