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Automation & Controls Engineer, Launch Hardware Production (Starship) Verified today

SpaceX · Cape Canaveral, FL · Space Systems · first seen 2026-10-21
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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 and refurbish Starship at rate, industrial air separation units upstream of the propellant farms, and heat shield tile manufacturing. 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.

Responsibilities

  • Design, build, and commission controls for the 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, air separation plant, and tile line change.
  • Maintain the operational capability of control-voltage (less than 60V) electrical systems once activated.
  • 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 U.S. citizen or national, U.S. lawful permanent resident (green card holder), Refugee under 8 U.S.C. Section 1157, or Asylee under 8 U.S.C. Section 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.