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.

TEST ENGINEER (RAPTOR AVIONICS)

The Raptor Avionics team is responsible for delivering all electrical control and sensing hardware for the world's most advanced rocket engine. As the Raptor AVI Test Engineer, you will be the last line of defense against faulty hardware resulting from process escapes or design shortcomings. Raptor AVI is looking for an engineer to take responsibility for ensuring all AVI hardware that flies it built to highest of standards. In order to accomplish this they will interface with, and leverage the resources of, various test organizations around SpaceX including the Components Test Engineers in Hawthorne, Integration Engineers in McGregor, and Flight Ops Engineers in Starbase. This person will define test requirements, design test process flows, and perform data analysis to steer the factory toward delivering an increasingly better avionics suite. 

The nature of this position requires someone interested in working in a multidisciplinary organization with a range of technologies including electronics, high-pressure hardware, and electromechanical actuators. Additionally, this person must have a strong desire to apply data analytics to drive continuous improvement across the organization. It is not expected that the candidate know all of the above, but they must have the aptitude to become proficient in each skill throughout the course of their career. 

RESPONSIBILITIES:

  • Develop test solutions for in-house developed avionics hardware products that will fly to space
  • Own the full development cycle of multiple test systems from requirements through to deployment
  • Develop modular and reusable automated test architectures which can efficiently be deployed across multiple product lines
  • Write automation software in Python to interact with units under test, test equipment, instrumentation, and production documentation systems
  • Work closely with and consistently provide feedback to electrical design engineers, firmware engineers, manufacturing engineers, and test lab teams to drive design/infrastructure improvements to increase product reliability/yield
  • Root-cause test failures to ensure issues are understood and develop/implement mitigations as part of a process of continuous improvement
  • Provide technical guidance and mentorship to junior engineers and technicians

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

  • Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, computer science, or physics 
  • 1+ years of professional programming experience
  • 1+ years of professional experience with hardware development or electronics test engineering

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

  • Master’s degree in an engineering discipline
  • Experience with data analytics
  • Experience developing functional test plans from product requirements and analysis of schematics
  • Experience developing object-oriented software in Python 
  • Experience working with firmware engineers to develop self-test functionality for embedded systems
  • Understanding of electrical schematics and electronics manufacturing to analyze/improve test coverage
  • Experience automating test equipment and measurement techniques to verify/validate product requirements
  • Understanding of metrology, sources of measurement error, and uncertainty analysis
  • Exposure to SMT lines and electronics manufacturing
  • Familiarity with National Instruments platforms including DAQmx, PXI, and cRIO
  • Understanding of instrumentation, interfaces, and sensors including DMMs, DAQ, power supplies, oscilloscopes, DIO, GPIB, USB, Serial-422, VISA, UDP, GigE, SPI, switch technologies/topologies, accelerometers, RTDs, thermocouples, and 4-20mA sensors
  • Understanding and experience in environmental testing such as vibration, shock, thermal, burn-in, and TVAC

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

  • Ability to work overtime and weekends as needed
  • Ability to travel – up to 10%

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:

Pay range:       

Level I: $95,000.00 - $115,000.00/per year       
Level II: $110,000.00 - $130,000.00/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-related knowledge and skills, education, and experience.

Base salary is just one part of your total rewards package at SpaceX. You may also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the form of company stock, stock options, or long-term cash awards, as well as potential discretionary bonuses and the ability to purchase additional stock at a discount through an Employee Stock Purchase Plan. You will also receive access to comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, short and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, paid parental leave, and various other discounts and perks. You may also accrue 3 weeks of paid vacation and will be eligible for 10 or more paid holidays per year. Exempt employees are eligible for 5 days of sick leave per year.

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 notify the Human Resources Department at (310) 363-6000.

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