BUILD RELIABILITY ENGINEER (VALVES/STARSHIP)
The Build Reliability organization at SpaceX is an inclusive, inter-disciplinary team that is committed to the reliability of flight components and production assemblies. Your breadth of hardware ownership as a Build Reliability Engineer will be immense as you collaborate with other core groups at SpaceX, guiding the hardware from design to production and operation. You will employ “reliability by any means necessary”, stretching your expertise in fabrication methods, work instructions, tooling design, inspection procedures, data gathering/visualization, and broad collaboration. You will build new processes from the ground up, and routinely grade/improve execution of existing processes, driving continuous production improvement and ultimately be responsible for build-induced vehicle risk. Driving decisions through data is critical, for new hardware this may require defining what data needs to be collected to inform future decisions. As issues arise you will need to have the ability to deep dive problems to understand the root cause and implement robust corrective actions. You thrive in a hands-on environment and will spend time in the office, on the factory floor, and in the lab to execute on the mission to make humanity interplanetary.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Develop manufacturing, integration, assembly, welding, NDE, cleanliness, and checkouts processes from the ground up, then enforce consistency across different work centers
- Identify current reliability gaps in the manufacturing/design process, ideate on solutions and implement to continue to improve reliability without slowing down build rate
- Responsible partner with design engineering and manufacturing teams through product development and production to create quality plans for flight hardware, including identification of key characteristics, prototype testing for functionality and manufacturability, first article and detailed inspection planning, and consideration of past failures and lessons learned
- Monitor the success of products and processes through production ramp-up using a suite of quality and analysis tools
- Conduct regular build quality reviews to ensure that design intent is achieved and well-communicated; 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
- Investigate failures in production, test and flight, identifying and mitigating the immediate and underlying root causes in order to reduce risk and improve reliability of designs and processes
- Design and implement tooling for work access, mechanical/avionics/propulsion testing, build fixturing, lifting & rigging, and fluids.
- Define and document inspection requirements and procedures.
- Contain suspect or known non-conforming product, providing guidance to quality inspectors, technicians, shop supervisors and engineers to assist in quarantining and rework activities across multiple sites
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:
- Bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline or physics
- 1+ years in a manufacturing, quality and/or design engineering role (student project team or internship experience qualifies)
PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:
- Experience with the build, assembly, or integration of structures, avionics, valves, fluid system components, actuators, thermal protection systems, or other aerospace components
- Strong interpersonal and collaborative skills, enthusiasm for the team’s spirit of innovation and mission of improving reliability in cutting-edge technology
- Master’s degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, materials engineering, or electrical engineering
- Demonstrated application of process controls in high volume manufacturing, test, and quality environment
- Knowledge of welding requirements, demonstrated experience implementing process improvements for welding processes and implementing process controls for both automated and manual welding processes
- Knowledge of quality tools such as Lean principles, measurement systems analysis, design of experiments, statistical process control, root cause analysis and corrective action, advanced product quality planning (APQP), metrology, process failure mode and effects analysis (PFMEA), control plans, and various problem solving approaches
- Experience with the build, assembly, or integration of structures, avionics, valves, fluid system components, actuators, thermal protection systems, or other aerospace components.
- Experience developing or supporting any of the following products/processes:
- Complex mechanical/structural assemblies
- Fluid component/valve assembly
- CNC machining, forming, bending
- Fluid system pressure testing
- Welding (electron beam (EB)/TIG)
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
- Ability to work extended hours, weekends, and offsite as needed
