---
title: 'Automation Build Engineer, Development (Starlink) at SpaceX'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/automation-build-engineer-development-starlink-spacex-bastrop-p9h0hpfqxb75'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-08'
---

# Automation Build Engineer, Development (Starlink) at SpaceX

- **Company:** SpaceX
- **Location:** Bastrop, TX
- **Posted:** 2026-08-19
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-08
- **Apply:** https://boards.greenhouse.io/spacex/jobs/8696881002?gh_jid=8696881002

## Job description

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.

## AUTOMATION BUILD ENGINEER, DEVELOPMENT (STARLINK)

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.

As a build engineer on the Development Operations team, you will be responsible for leading large-scale projects, developing standardized procedures, and optimizing fabrication and integration processes to drive overall efficiency inside our shop, across our internal customer base and strategic partnerships with local vendors.

Working in concert with Starlink engineering product teams, supply chain, materials management, and leadership, you will coordinate ownership across these multi-disciplinary teams. You will collaborate daily, driving meaningful changes to processes, procedures, planning, and organization to improve fabrication and integration workflow. You will take extreme ownership of deliverables, schedule adherence, and alignment with overall program milestones.

## RESPONSIBILITIES:

- Act as the primary liaison between automation, supply chain, production, and development operations to ensure factory infrastructure is built and deployed to meet program milestones
- Ideate and implement new manufacturing processes and workflows within the development operations team to increase shop throughput, efficiency and personnel safety
- Manage the build, configuration and instillation of all modular automation assets within the team’s catalog from raw material purchase to complete cell build and handoff to automation/production
- Work with peer engineering and support teams to drive design updates in response to manufacturing issues, part obsolescence, and system requirement changes
- Prepare engineering documentation necessary for the transition from development to production including assembly procedures, integration instruction and manufacturing bills of materials
- Work with supplier and internal vendors to fabricate piece parts and sub-assemblies at rate to meet production needs or supplement internal capacity
- Contribute to design reviews acting as an expert in design for manufacturability, design for reliability, design for maintenance, supplier capabilities assessments, quality control, etc.
- Spearhead cost reduction efforts and implement initiatives to meet and exceed departmental objectives while not compromising on quality
- Design, develop, validate, and implement tooling to ensure repeatability and efficiency
- Primary point of contact for non-conforming product (cells, panels & tooling), troubleshooting, root cause, failure investigations and corrective actions
- Develop training requirements for built technician personnel and work to elevate overall team capability and productivity
- Work creatively and innovate to support SpaceX's goals by always being prepared to challenge the status quo

## BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

- Bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline
- 2+ years of experience in design, manufacturing, and/or production of mechanical or electrical hardware systems (internship and collegiate extracurricular engineering project experience qualifies)

## PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

- 2+ years of experience implementing design for manufacture for electromechanical systems
- 2+ years of professional experience in design and/or production of mechanical or electronics hardware systems
- Ability to create and deliver presentations for design and manufacturing readiness reviews
- Experience transitioning products from design to manufacturing as part of a cross-functional team in a fast-paced iterative design environment
- Experience modeling with 3D CAD software such as: NX, Catia, Solidworks or equivalent
- Working proficiency with DFMEA and PFMEA methodology and implementation
- SPC (Statistical Process Control) knowledge and experience applying statistical methods to track process capability
- Competency with SQL databases
- Demonstrated experience designing tooling in a manufacturing environment
- Hands-on engineer with a passion for continuous improvement
- Capable of solving complex problems with little to no supervision on schedule as an individual or as a member of an integrated team
- Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal

## ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

- Must be willing to work extended hours and/or overtime as needed
- Some travel to outside vendors may be required (up to 10%)

## 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](https://www.pmddtc.state.gov/?id=ddtc_kb_article_page&sys_id=24d528fddbfc930044f9ff621f961987).

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 reach out to EEOCompliance@spacex.com.

## About SpaceX

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: SpaceX designs, manufactures, and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft while building a global satellite broadband network and AI infrastructure to enable interplanetary life.
- **Entity Type**: Public (Nasdaq: SPCX) – IPO priced at $135/share on June 12, 2026
- **Headquarters**: Starbase, Texas (primary); Hawthorne, California (historical headquarters)
- **Founded**: 2002
- **Founders**: Elon Musk

## Core Business
- **Industries**: Aerospace & Defense, Spaceflight, Satellite Telecommunications, Artificial Intelligence
- **Target Customers**: Government (NASA, U.S. Armed Forces, international agencies), Commercial satellite operators, Broadband consumers (Starlink), Defense/intelligence (Starshield)
- **Mission**: To make humanity multiplanetary by building the integrated hardware and software infrastructure of the future across space, connectivity, and AI.

## Products & Services
- **Falcon 9**: Reusable two-stage rocket – the world’s most launched orbital rocket, with over 630 successful first-stage reflights.
- **Falcon Heavy**: Heavy-lift launch vehicle composed of three Falcon 9 cores; capable of lifting nearly 64 metric tons to orbit.
- **Starship**: Fully reusable super-heavy launch vehicle and spacecraft (largest ever built) designed for missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
- **Dragon 2**: Crew and cargo spacecraft used for NASA Commercial Crew and private missions to the ISS and beyond.
- **Starlink**: Low-Earth-orbit satellite constellation providing high-speed, low-latency broadband internet to over 10.3 million people globally.
- **Starshield**: Military-grade satellite services for national security and defense customers.
- **SpaceXAI**: Division focused on AI compute infrastructure, frontier models, and real-time data processing (including AI compute satellites).

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Conflicting reports – Internal share offer in 2025 valued SpaceX at **$800 billion**; IPO pricing (June 2026) implied a market capitalization of approximately **$75 billion** for the shares offered.
- **Key Metric**: Annual revenue of **$15.0 billion** (2025); total funding raised **$15.2 billion** across 56 rounds.
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Google (led $1B Series G), Intesa Sanpaolo, NASA, U.S. Space Force, and numerous institutional investors.
- **Growth Signals**: Employee headcount of **11,387** (monthly growth +2.5%); **1,671 active job postings**; Falcon 9 launch cadence of 1–3 per week; Starlink subscriber base covering ~10.3 million people; recent acquisition of xAI (February 2026).

## Competitive Advantages
- **Full reusability**: Only company with a fleet of reusable orbital rockets (Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy), dramatically lowering per-launch cost.
- **Vertical integration**: Designs, manufactures, and operates its own rockets, spacecraft, satellite constellation, and AI platform – enabling rapid iteration and cost control.
- **Scale and reliability**: More orbital launches per year than any other provider (public or private); proven track record with NASA and DoD.
- **First-mover in commercial spaceflight**: Established crew transport, satellite internet, and now AI compute in orbit.

## Strategic Focus
- **Starship development**: Complete testing and operational deployment of the fully reusable Starship system for lunar (Artemis) and Mars missions.
- **Starlink expansion**: Grow subscriber base, launch V3 satellites, and extend mobile and direct-to-cell services.
- **AI integration**: Leverage SpaceXAI for on-orbit compute and real-time data analytics; build AI compute satellites.
- **Interplanetary infrastructure**: Develop technologies for sustained human presence on the Moon and Mars.

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-driven culture**: Employees directly contribute to making life multiplanetary – “hard work and innovative solutions result in big gains.”
- **Impactful projects**: Work on reusable rockets, crewed spacecraft, global broadband, and AI systems that are actively changing the space industry.
- **Compensation**: Competitive salaries, comprehensive health benefits, and equity packages.
- **Work locations**: Primary campuses in Hawthorne, CA and Starbase, TX (with additional sites in Cape Canaveral, FL and Vandenberg, CA). Roles span engineering, software, manufacturing, and support.
- **Engineering culture**: Merit-based, fast-paced, with high ownership; top talent sourced from Tesla, Boeing, NASA JPL, and other aerospace leaders.
- **Open roles**: Over 1,600 active positions across software, AI, avionics, propulsion, supply chain, and more – including internships.

## Sources
1. [SpaceX Careers Page](https://www.spacex.com/careers)
2. [LinkedIn – SpaceX Company Profile](https://www.linkedin.com/company/spacex)
3. [SpaceX IPO Factsheet (PDF)](https://content.spacex.com/cms-assets/FINAL_Documents%20and%20Updates/SpaceX%20IPO_Factsheet.pdf)
4. [SpaceX IPO Pricing Press Release](https://ir.spacex.com/updates/releases-details/2026/Space-Exploration-Technologies-Corp--Announces-Pricing-of-Initial-Public-Offering/default.aspx)
5. [SpaceX Jobs Board (Greenhouse)](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/spacex)

## Other roles at SpaceX

- [CNC Specialist (NX CAM) - Blades & Vanes](https://feeny.ai/job/cnc-specialist-nx-cam-blades-vanes-spacex-bastrop-e68yy8a0j64d) — Bastrop, TX
- [Thermal Development Technician, Robotic Welding (Starship)](https://feeny.ai/job/thermal-development-technician-robotic-welding-starship-spacex-starbase-yqmzqsw8pyah) — Starbase, TX
- [Welding Engineer (Starship)](https://feeny.ai/job/welding-engineer-starship-spacex-starbase-z0zrxryrqszb) — Starbase, TX
- [Equipment Reliability Engineer (Starship)](https://feeny.ai/job/equipment-reliability-engineer-starship-spacex-starbase-r2r8xxvvykyc) — Starbase, TX
- [Application Software Engineer, Internal Systems](https://feeny.ai/job/application-software-engineer-internal-systems-spacex-starbase-9rnsx3q0cyry) — Starbase, TX
- [Sr. Full Stack Engineer, MES (Manufacturing Execution System)](https://feeny.ai/job/sr-full-stack-engineer-mes-manufacturing-execution-system-spacex-bastrop-1gyzme2f3f1j) — Bastrop, TX
- [Full Stack Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/full-stack-software-engineer-spacex-bastrop-n75e0act3wmn) — Bastrop, TX
- [Full Stack Software Engineer, Internal Systems](https://feeny.ai/job/full-stack-software-engineer-internal-systems-spacex-hawthorne-b72wbzcr99xr) — Hawthorne, CA
- [Merchandising Associate](https://feeny.ai/job/merchandising-associate-spacex-starbase-gedk4n16vt1h) — Starbase, TX
- [Supervisor, NDE Operations (Starship)](https://feeny.ai/job/supervisor-nde-operations-starship-spacex-starbase-6f3d8eat9aam) — Starbase, TX