Operations Engineer
US$100,000 – US$160,000 / yr base salary
Posted 22 Sep 2026
Advertised as “Operations Engineer (Starshield)”
BranchFactor Summary
The original posting with the fluff stripped out
- Expected experience
- 1+ yrs
- Management level
- Individual contributor
| Base salary | US$100,000 – US$160,000 / yr |
|---|
Field of studyEngineering
Study levelBachelor's
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.
OPERATIONS ENGINEER (STARSHIELD)
The operations engineering team supports Starshield through strategic planning, optimization of production processes, and alignment of resources to tasks. We are looking for engineers to lead cross-functional and multi-disciplinary teams that optimize and accurately track towards important national defense milestones in a fast-paced environment. We are seeking emerging leaders who can join teams and apply principles of operations engineering, operations research, industrial engineering, and data science to complex optimization and simulation problems. We are searching for qualified engineers who can conduct complex problem analysis, and steer strategic decisions.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Develop tools to analyze delivery, capacity, production processes, supply chain, and operations to guide decisions
- Work as part of a team to develop and manage strategy to mitigate future launch risks and seize emerging opportunities to improve quality, output, safety, and cost
- Develop process flow models to analyze production system behavior and synchronize output with other elements of the Starshield program
- Identify operational challenges within the organization; determine root cause, and develop appropriate solutions
- Develop and track key performance measures, and identify decision points and actions to optimize production to meet demand
- Actively develop system and process improvements within and between functional areas
- Collaborate with cross-departmental partners in supply chain, engineering, and accounting groups to synchronize efforts
- Capture best practices of production systems, and manage organizational knowledge and lessons-learned
- Build models and equipment layouts to aid in strategic space planning for the Starshield program
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:
- Bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline
- 1+ years of experience in using Excel, SQL, or Python/R for analysis or modeling dynamic systems
PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:
- Proficiency with statistics, data analysis, cost/benefit analysis, and visualization
- Experience with CAD software, Power BI, and discrete event modeling tools
- Experience with inventory, production, and capacity planning (including MRP/ERP systems)