Avionics Systems Engineer (Starship)

SpaceX
Starbase, TX

Who this role is best for

Strong fit for systems engineers with hands-on troubleshooting experience who can work autonomously in a high-consequence aerospace domain. Candidates should have a background in electrical design and be comfortable with cross-functional collaboration in a fast-paced environment at Starbase, Texas.

Best fit for

  • Systems engineers with hands-on troubleshooting experience and a background in electrical design
    — “Triage, troubleshoot, root cause, and repair electrical hardware issues on an aggressive production schedule”
  • Individuals who can operate effectively in high-consequence environments and make real-time decisions
    — “Support vehicle pad and flight operations as avionics operator responsible for evaluating vehicle health, resolving issues real time”
  • Collaborative problem-solvers capable of integrating multiple disciplines and minimizing risk
    — “Creative problem solving that can bring multiple disciplines together with the ability to assess risk”

Things to consider

  • Extended hours and weekend work are frequently required due to mission-critical timelines
    — “Extended hours and weekend work frequently required to support critical project and mission milestones”
  • Geographic constraints apply, as the position is located in Starbase, Texas with possible travel
    — “Position located in Starbase, Texas with travel to other SpaceX facilities may be intermittently required”
  • U.S. citizenship or residency is mandatory due to ITAR export regulations
    — “applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident”

How to stand out

  • Highlight experience with real-time operations and high-consequence systems in your resume and interviews
    — “Support vehicle pad and flight operations as avionics operator responsible for evaluating vehicle health”
  • Showcase skills in system-level integration and electrical component design with specific examples
    — “1+ years of experience with electrical component design, system level integration of electronic components”
  • Demonstrate fluency in automation tools like Python or C++ for test and analysis tasks
    — “Software fluency, enabling automation of test or analysis tasks”
  • Emphasize your ability to work autonomously and manage multiple priorities in a demanding atmosphere
    — “Ability to work in a fast paced, autonomously driven, and demanding atmosphere”
  • Include experience with electrical test equipment such as oscilloscopes and multimeters in your application materials
    — “Competence with electrical test equipment (multimeters, oscilloscopes, power supplies, etc.)”
Pace · Fast PacedCollaboration · HighAutonomy · MediumDecision Impact · Team

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • representing the avionics system throughout integration
  • troubleshooting electrical hardware issues
  • supporting vehicle operations
Typical background
Bachelor’s degree in an engineering field1+ years of experience with electrical component design

Skills & requirements

Required

Avionics SystemsElectrical Component DesignSystem Level IntegrationTroubleshootingRFVideo

Preferred

Creative Problem Solving3D CAD SoftwareSoftware FluencyOperations Experience

Stack & domain

MatlabC++PythonElectrical Component DesignSystem Level IntegrationSystem Level TestingElectrical Test Equipment3D CAD SoftwareRFVideoProblem SolvingRisk AssessmentMulti-taskingOrganizationalCommunicationSelf-motivationAvionicsVehicle OperationsVehicle ArchitectureElectrical DesignVehicle NetworkOnboard SensorsActuatorsCompute

About the role

Original posting from SpaceX via Greenhouse

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.

AVIONICS SYSTEMS ENGINEER (STARSHIP)

As a Starship Avionics Systems & Operations Engineer, you will have the unique opportunity to be part of a cross-functional team that bridges the gap between vehicle analysis, design, production and vehicle operations.

The Starship Avionics Team is responsible for cradle to grave ownership of Starship vehicle avionics as the vehicle is built, tested, launched, recovered and re-launched. This includes development of new capabilities, electrical design of vehicle architecture, repair of electrical components, and troubleshooting of avionics subsystems including power distribution, vehicle network, onboard sensors, actuators, compute, RF, and video.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Represent the Starship avionics system throughout all stages of integration, from production and test all the way through GO for launch 

Triage, troubleshoot, root cause, and repair electrical hardware issues on an aggressive production schedule. Drive future improvements to minimize prevent reoccurrence

Support vehicle pad and flight operations as avionics operator responsible for evaluating vehicle health, resolving issues real time, and recommending path forward

Contribute to new avionics vehicle architectures that minimize mass, cost, and labor through collaboration with adjacent teams and supporting analysis

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

Bachelor’s degree in an engineering field, science, or math

1+ years of experience with electrical component design, system level integration of electronic components or system level testing

1+ years of experience using software tools such as Matlab, C++ or Python

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

Competence with electrical test equipment (multimeters, oscilloscopes, power supplies, etc.)

Creative problem solving that can bring multiple disciplines together with the ability to assess risk and make design/development decisions without all available data

Experience troubleshooting sensors, actuators, and electrical components

Experience with 3D CAD software

Software fluency, enabling automation of test or analysis tasks

Self-motivated with strong multi-tasking, organizational and communication skills

Ability to work in a fast paced, autonomously driven, and demanding atmosphere

Operations experience in flight test, piloting aircraft, or controlling other high consequence systems in real time

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

Extended hours and weekend work frequently required to support critical project and mission milestones

Position located in Starbase, Texas with travel to other SpaceX facilities may be intermittently required

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. 

Source: SpaceX careers (Greenhouse)

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