Lead Manufacturing Engineer (Starlink PCBA)

About the role

SpaceX is developing a low-latency, broadband internet system to meet the needs of people around the world. 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. To enable our goal of "Connecting the Unconnected," SpaceX is ramping up production of our User Terminal Kit manufacturing facility in Bastrop, Texas (Greater Austin), which will bring hundreds of high-skill manufacturing jobs to the area.

SpaceX is also leveraging its experience deploying and operating the world's largest satellite constellation to develop Starmind, a new constellation of satellites capturing solar energy in space to power low-cost, high-performance AI compute for Earth.

As the Lead Manufacturing Engineer of Starlink PCBA production at SpaceX, you will have the opportunity to utilize your knowledge, experience, and creativity to develop novel solutions at the cutting edge of technology. You will own the relationship between our development and production teams. You will provide input into the design and development of new and existing hardware and take a lead role in manufacturing on our current and next generation Starlink products and AI compute.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of engineers and specialists for the Starlink PCBA manufacturing team
• Responsible products and processes will include SMT, post-processing manufacturing processes, and testing
• Responsible for implementing plug-and-play processes to production that are capable of high volume throughput (3M+ per year)
• Align department initiatives with the goals and responsibilities of the manufacturing engineering team
• Lead the 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
• Responsible for 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
• Positively impact and improve every aspect of life at SpaceX through motivational leadership to drive the business forward

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor of science in aerospace, mechanical, systems, electrical, or manufacturing engineering
• 3+ years of hands-on manufacturing experience

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Master's degree in an engineering discipline
• Previous experience leading team of high performing engineers and/or specialists
• Experience with the design and manufacturing of high reliability electronics assemblies
• Technically well-rounded and displays a proficiency in electronics manufacturing techniques, processes and equipment including a strong working knowledge of EEE piece parts, PCB, PCBA, lamination, electromechanical, test
• 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 working with and defining requirements for ERP, MRP and MES systems
• Ability to work well in an integrated team including daily interactions with technicians, engineers and managers

Additional Requirements

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

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.