---
title: 'Operations & Maintenance Manager (Power Plant) at SpaceX'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/operations-maintenance-manager-power-plant-spacex-starbase-nvsfeb9v4vry'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-27'
---

# Operations & Maintenance Manager (Power Plant) at SpaceX

- **Company:** SpaceX
- **Location:** Starbase, TX
- **Posted:** 2026-10-27
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-27
- **Apply:** https://boards.greenhouse.io/spacex/jobs/8907751002?gh_jid=8907751002

## 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.

## OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE MANAGER (POWER PLANT)

SpaceX is seeking an experienced Operations and Maintenance Manager to lead the operation, maintenance, and long-term reliability of power generation infrastructure supporting the Starbase supercomputer. This role is responsible for building and leading the teams that keep critical power systems online, spanning gas turbines, generators, mechanical and electrical balance-of-plant, controls, and supporting utilities.

This is a hands-on technical leadership position requiring deep power plant experience, strong engineering judgment, and a proven ability to deliver reliable plant performance. You will own plant availability, operational execution, maintenance strategy, and continuous improvement while supporting commissioning, startup, and expansion of power generation capacity. This is not a desk job. You will be expected to lead from the field, resolve complex technical issues, and make critical decisions when equipment performance and uptime are at risk.

## RESPONSIBILITIES:

- Build, lead, and develop multidisciplinary operations and maintenance teams, including plant engineers, operators, maintenance technicians, and technical supervisors
- Own the safe, reliable, and efficient operation of gas turbine power generation assets, generators, and associated mechanical, electrical, and controls systems
- Establish and continuously improve plant operating procedures, preventive and predictive maintenance programs, emergency response protocols, and equipment reliability strategies
- Drive plant performance against key metrics including availability, forced outage rate, heat rate, maintenance costs, and equipment reliability
- Lead root cause investigations for turbine trips, forced outages, recurring equipment failures, and performance degradation; implement corrective actions to prevent recurrence
- Oversee maintenance planning and execution, including major and minor turbine inspections, combustion inspections, equipment overhauls, and planned outages
- Coordinate directly with equipment OEMs, EPC contractors, vendors, and engineering teams to resolve technical issues and support long-term equipment performance
- Develop maintenance budgets, staffing plans, spare parts strategies, and long-term service requirements
- Establish a strong safety culture across plant operations, including lockout/tagout, electrical safety, permit-to-work procedures, and environmental compliance
- Lead construction-to-operations turnover, commissioning support, startup readiness, and integration of new power generation assets into operating facilities
- Coordinate with supercomputer infrastructure and electrical engineering teams to ensure power generation reliability supports critical compute operations
- Hire, train, mentor, and develop engineers and technicians while establishing clear technical and operational performance expectations

## BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or a related engineering discipline
- 5+ years of professional experience in power plant operations, maintenance, or engineering, including direct experience with gas turbine or combined-cycle power generation
- 3+ years of experience leading power plant operations and/or maintenance teams
- Demonstrated experience managing plant reliability, equipment maintenance, and operational performance

## PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

- 10+ years of professional experience in power plant operations, maintenance, or engineering, including direct experience with gas turbine or combined-cycle power generation
- Extensive knowledge of gas turbines, generators, steam turbines, heat recovery steam generators (HRSGs), and mechanical/electrical balance-of-plant systems
- Experience leading operations and maintenance at utility-scale, industrial, or mission-critical power generation facilities
- Strong technical understanding of gas turbine operation, combustion systems, rotating equipment, plant controls, and electrical distribution
- Experience with GE, Siemens Energy, Mitsubishi Power, or comparable industrial turbine systems
- Experience managing OEM long-term service agreements, major maintenance contracts, and outage budgets
- Proficiency with distributed control systems (DCS), SCADA, computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS), and equipment performance monitoring
- Demonstrated experience improving availability, reducing forced outages, and implementing reliability-centered maintenance programs
- Strong understanding of P&IDs, single-line diagrams, operating procedures, and equipment technical documentation
- Experience commissioning new power generation facilities and transitioning equipment into commercial operations
- Familiarity with OSHA, NFPA 70E, environmental permitting requirements, and industrial plant safety practices
- Experience supporting power generation for data centers or other high-availability industrial loads
- Strong communication, technical troubleshooting, and decision-making skills in high-pressure operating environments

## ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

- Must be able to work onsite at Starbase, TX
- Must be available to provide on-call support for critical plant events and work extended hours or weekends as operational needs require
- Ability to work in industrial environments, including outdoors in heat, cold, and rain, at heights or in confined spaces when necessary
- Ability to wear required personal protective equipment and safely access operating equipment
- Willingness to travel to vendor facilities or other project sites as needed

## 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)

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