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.

SR. SUPPLIER QUALITY ENGINEER (MATERIALS)

As a Supplier Quality Engineer, you will manage and lead cross functional risk activities to meet technical, production, and regulatory requirements at the point of qualification and throughout the supplier's lifecycle. You would be responsible for monitoring for known and unknown supplier flight risk and driving failure investigations to resolve issues immediately and effectively. As supplier surveillance activities deal with suppliers that support all areas of SpaceX, you would build an extensive network within materials and processing, build reliability, production, supply chain management, and a deep understanding of SpaceX systems and processes. This experience would enable you to become a critical voice in the development of group and company strategy.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

  • Act as the reliability point of contact for all purchased metallic raw materials and semi-finished products; mill products, castings, forgings, tubing, etc. used on our vehicles and engines, solving emergent challenges at suppliers and mitigating risk to the manifest by addressing high-impact manufacturing and quality challenges
  • Interface with production operations, inspection, shipping/receiving, and engineering teams to develop appropriate quality signals and processes to meeting overall program reliability goals
  • Drive changes that make the system more reliable, more manufacturable, and more efficient
  • Lead cross functional supplier quality failure investigations in production, test and flight, identifying and mitigating the immediate and underlying root causes in order to quantify/reduce risk and improve reliability of designs and processes
  • Coordinate failure resolution and follow-up actions to avoid further mishaps
  • Responsible for containment actions associated with non-conforming product, including identification of product location, coordination with Build Reliability Engineers of potential flight risk and the coordination of actions required to identify root cause analysis
  • Identify opportunities for risk reduction and removal of complexity in designs and processes to improve manufacturability, collaborating with integrated product teams to drive improvements and address high-impact and repeating non-conformances
  • Review acceptance and qualification of new capabilities at suppliers
  • Monitor supplier capabilities for unknown flight risk and work to resolve issues
  • Assess changes in supplier processes and cross-functional impacts
  • Run ongoing reliability risk review activities, including performing data reviews and executing mitigation plans
  • Work with cross-functional teams to drive improved verification and changes for improved reliability

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

  • Bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline
  • 5+ years of experience with manufacturing and/or inspection of mechanical products in a production environment (including school projects, clubs, or internships)

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

  • Bachelor’s degree in metallurgical engineering or materials science & engineering
  • Master’s degree in metallurgical engineering or materials science & engineering
  • Broad familiarity with metallic mill products in the alloys and product forms used on our launch vehicle and engines
  • Experience with tubing, castings and/or forgings
  • Broad familiarity with the ancillary processes associated with the production of metallic parts, e.g., NDE, heat treatment, etc., is a plus
  • Knowledge of 2D blueprints and model drawings
  • Knowledge of supplier quality processes; production part approval process, advanced product quality planning, first article inspection reports, etc.
  • Knowledge of statistical techniques and methods like design of experiments, Six Sigma etc.
  • Experience with quality systems (ISO 9000/TS/AS9100/NADCAP)
  • Disciplined approach to problem solving - 8D
  • Experience with SQL, software development & project management, process flow mapping, material planning systems, warehouse management systems
  • Knowledge of lean concepts
  • Experience with sharing information and influencing others; strong written and verbal communication skills, able to liaise cross functionally, internally and externally, make presentations to team members and management
  • Experience with MRP or ERP systems

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS: 

  • Must be able to work extended hours, some nights and/or weekends as needed to meet major milestones
  • Must be able to travel - up to 25% work week travel may be required, including international travel
  • This position is based in Hawthorne, CA and requires being onsite - remote work not considered
  • Valid driver's license

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:

Pay Range:

Sr. Supplier Quality Engineer: $125,000.00 - $175,000.00/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 & long-term disability insurance, life insurance, paid parental leave, and various other discounts and perks. You may also accrue 3 weeks of paid vacation & 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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