Data Engineer (Starship)

SpaceX
Starbase, TX
On-siteCareer-pivot friendly

Who this role is best for

Geared toward engineers comfortable with end-to-end data pipeline ownership and cross-functional collaboration, with a preference for candidates based in Texas who can commit to onsite work and extended hours.

Best fit for

  • Candidates with hands-on experience in data engineering and a track record of full-cycle project ownership
    — “Own projects throughout their entire lifecycle: problem identification, solution ideation, architecting, implementation, adoption, monitoring, and iteration”
  • Individuals who can work in a high-impact, mission-driven environment with a focus on automation and process improvement
    — “We build data pipelines, improve processes, and develop tools and automation that inform, accelerate, and focus the organization.”

Things to consider

  • Onsite presence is mandatory in Starbase, TX, with no remote work options available
    — “This position is based in Starbase, TX and requires being onsite - remote work not considered”
  • Candidates must be eligible for ITAR compliance, which limits the applicant pool to U.S. citizens or residents
    — “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.”
  • Up to 10% of the work week may involve travel to other sites, which is a non-negotiable requirement
    — “Must be able to travel - up to 10% work week travel may be required to other sites”

How to stand out

  • Emphasize your ability to query, clean, and transform data for executive-level decision-making
    — “Query, clean, and transform data to inform and focus all levels of supply chain—from individual contributors to senior executives.”
  • Showcase experience with data orchestration tools like Airflow or dbt in your technical narrative
    — “Experience building and maintaining data pipelines and ETL processes”
  • Demonstrate your ability to create self-service platforms for non-technical stakeholders
    — “Experience developing web apps, dashboards, or self-service platforms for non-technical stakeholders”
  • Demonstrate fluency in SQL and your ability to design relational databases
    — “Strong proficiency with SQL and experience designing and querying relational databases”
Pace · SteadyCollaboration · HighAutonomy · MediumDecision Impact · Team

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

What success looks like

  • efficient data pipelines
  • improved data quality
Typical background
data engineeringsoftware engineering

Skills & requirements

Required

Data EngineeringData PipelinesETL ProcessesSQL

Preferred

Data VisualizationMachine Learning

Stack & domain

PythonC#SQLAirflowPrefectdbtPandasNumPyPyTorchPower BIGrafanaMetabaseTableauGitCI/CDTestingMonitoring

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.

DATA ENGINEER (STARSHIP) 

The Starship Supply Chain team is building the machine that builds the machine. We are engineering a supply chain to feed Starfactory and support thousands of Starship launches per year. Our team spans planning, procurement, supplier development, quality, material flow, and inventory.

At the heart of this effort is the Data and Operations Engineering team. We build data pipelines, improve processes, and develop tools and automation that inform, accelerate, and focus the organization.

Aerospace experience is not required to succeed here. Instead, we look for smart, motivated, and collaborative engineers who love solving problems and want to make a meaningful impact on an inspiring mission. You will own challenging problems end-to-end, working alongside a team of enthusiastic engineers to design and deliver solutions that help SpaceX move toward its goals at a rapid pace.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Be the extreme owner of automations, applications, and data pipelines

Own projects throughout their entire lifecycle: problem identification, solution ideation, architecting, implementation, adoption, monitoring, and iteration

Query, clean, and transform data to inform and focus all levels of supply chain—from individual contributors to senior executives.

Collaborate with central software teams on a shared vision for the software ecosystem, project requirements, roadmaps, and implementation details.

Develop, standardize, and continuously improve key process indicators and other operational metrics

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

Bachelor's degree in computer science, data science, engineering, math, physics, or scientific discipline; OR 2+ years of professional experience building software or data pipelines in lieu of a degree

1+ years of experience doing data engineering, data science, full stack development, or software engineering via project team, research, internships, and/or professional experience

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE: 

Experience managing UNIX-like operating systems via the command line

Strong proficiency with SQL and experience designing and querying relational databases

Experience building and maintaining data pipelines and ETL processes

Experience with data orchestration tools (e.g., Airflow, Prefect, or dbt)

Programming experience in Python, C#, or similar languages

Experience with data analysis and machine learning libraries such as Pandas, NumPy, and PyTorch

Experience with data visualization and business intelligence tools (e.g., Power BI, Grafana, Metabase, or Tableau)

Experience developing web apps, dashboards, or self-service platforms for non-technical stakeholders

Experience with version control (Git), CI/CD, testing, and monitoring

Strong understanding of data quality, statistical analysis, and data visualization best practices

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS: 

Must be able to work extended hours and/or weekends as needed to meet major milestones

Must be able to travel - up to 10% work week travel may be required to other sites

This position is based in Starbase, TX and requires being onsite - remote work not considered 

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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