Automation & Controls Engineer, Launch Hardware Production (Starship)This role owns the controls that build Starship.
You will design, commission, and operate the automation behind production systems. A 24-lane, 750,000 sq ft Starship Refurbishment facility (Gigabay) built to assemble & refurbish Starship at rate. Industrial air separation units upstream of the propellant farms. Heat shield tile manufacturing. This team owns that controls scope end to end. The work runs from a blank cabinet and a P&ID to a plant that stays up. You will specify instrumentation, program PLCs, pull in the data, commission the equipment, and then live with it in production. When a lane stops, a cold box trips, or a furnace drifts, you find it, fix it, and change the system so it does not happen again.
This position is based in Cape Canaveral, FL (Kennedy Space Center).
RESPONSIBILITIES- Design, build, and commission the controls for a 24-lane Gigabay: production tooling, lifts, fixtures, factory services, and the data layer the floor uses.
- Bring industrial air separation units online and keep them running. Own the instrumentation, interlocks, and control narratives for compression, cold box, distillation, storage, and transfer into the propellant farms.
- Own controls for heat shield tile manufacturing: thermal process equipment, material handling, inspection, and the data that ties process settings to tile quality.
- Stand up new equipment from first power-on through rate production, then own uptime once it is live.
- Develop and upgrade data acquisition and control systems as the factory, the air separation plant, and the tile line change.
- Maintain the operational capability of control-voltage (
- Turn sensor and PLC data into something operators and responsible engineers can act on the same shift.
- Support controls technicians and the mechanical, facilities, and process engineers who depend on these systems.
- Design hardware and work methods that cut cost, install time, and the time it takes to recover a down line.
- Analyze data to judge the health of electrical and process systems, and use it to drive the next change.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS- Bachelor's degree in physics, electrical engineering, or computer engineering.
- 6+ months of experience working with data acquisition systems (internship or project experience qualifies).
PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE- Demonstrated ability to design, implement, commission, and troubleshoot industrial control and data acquisition hardware.
- Hands-on PLC and industrial network experience: Modbus, PROFINET, EtherNet/IP, or equivalent.
- Experience commissioning process or factory equipment and supporting it after it is in production.
- Working knowledge of instrumentation in classified and cryogenic service (NFPA 70, NFPA 70E; Class I, Division 1 and Division 2, or IEC equivalent).
- Fundamental understanding of the equipment behind a plant: sensors, valves, drives, analyzers, power distribution, grounding, and signal integrity.
- Familiarity with mixed-signal electronics, schematic capture, and PCB design, verification, or validation where custom hardware is the right answer.
- First-hand programming experience beyond ladder: enough software to move data out of a controller and into a tool the factory can use.
- Knowledge of high-reliability build, test, and documentation practices.
- Excellent written and verbal communication. You will write the narrative, then go stand at the panel with the technician.
- Strong work ethic, a bias for finishing, and the ability to change roles quickly in a high-paced environment.
- Ability to drive work with incomplete information and to keep several systems moving at once.
- Passion for making the hardware that makes flight rate possible.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS- Ability to pass an Air Force background check for Cape Canaveral.
- Ability to perform job duties that require standing, kneeling, crouching, twisting, and working in cramped positions and small openings.
- Ability to climb stairs and ladders regularly throughout the day.
- Ability to lift lightweight supplies or materials (up to 25 lb unassisted).
- Available to work extended hours and weekends when commissioning or production needs it.
- Work performed around fumes, odors, flashing lights, heat, cold, and noise.
- Ability to travel to other SpaceX or third-party facilities (up to 25%).
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. a7 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. a7 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.
