SpaceX
Design Criteria Engineer (Starship)
About this role
SpaceX seeks a Design Criteria Engineer for the Starship program to ensure hardware and operations meet mission requirements through agile systems engineering. This role bridges multiple disciplines—avionics, propulsion, structures, and manufacturing—driving design improvements and coordinating cross-functional validation.
What you'll do
- Drive vehicle design improvements by partnering closely with hardware development teams
- Conduct peer reviews and approve hardware designs during design reviews and qualification test campaigns
- Develop tools and methods to ensure accurate design criteria dissemination across teams
- Coordinate design and operations evolution across avionics, propulsion, structures, launch, manufacturing, analysis, and test
- Execute rapid conceptual design, analysis, and testing cycles including CAD modeling and test oversight
- Perform closed-form and numerical stress analysis and dynamic system simulations
What they're looking for
- Mechanical design and manufacturing
- Aerospace structures design and analysis
- Fatigue, vibration, and thermal testing
- Siemens NX solid modeling and FEMAP finite element analysis
- Python, MATLAB, Visual Basic, and Excel scripting
- Material selection and supplier management
- Systems engineering and cross-disciplinary problem-solving
- Hands-on manufacturing processes (mills, lathes, composites, electronics)
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SpaceX
SpaceX develops advanced spacecraft and satellite systems, including the Starshield government satellite constellation and Starfall re-entry cargo capsule for global delivery. The company is hiring engineers in avionics integration, software test automation, mechanical design, and hardware reliability to validate flight-critical systems and ensure mission success.
- Website
- spacex.com
Likely interview questions
- Walk us through a complex hardware design review you conducted—how did you ensure all subsystems met safety and performance requirements?
- Describe your experience with fatigue or vibration analysis on mechanical assemblies and how you applied those results to design improvements.