---
title: 'Senior Manufacturing Engineer - Space Solar at Starpath Robotics'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-manufacturing-engineer-space-solar-starpath-robotics-hawthorne-sj1bj4s7wn0s'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-08'
---

# Senior Manufacturing Engineer - Space Solar at Starpath Robotics

- **Company:** Starpath Robotics
- **Location:** Hawthorne, CA
- **Compensation:** $145k–$180k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Posted:** 2026-07-23
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-08
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/starpath.space/de233ac5-e257-496b-9779-08a9f4ec4e9d/application

**Skills:** Manufacturing process design, Process development, Production scaling, Cross-functional leadership, Photovoltaic hardware manufacturing, Solar cell and panel production, Multi-junction III-V cells, Parallel-gap resistance welding, Tab bonding, Weld and bond inspection, Manufacturing line scaling, Rate readiness reviews, Yield improvement campaigns, Automation program leadership, Coverglass attach, Encapsulation, Adhesive and RTV bonding, Electrical characterization, LIV/flash testing, Electroluminescence

> Own critical space solar manufacturing processes from prototype to high-rate production. Drive yield, automation, and cost reduction while mentoring the engineering team and ensuring stable, scalable manufacturing operations.

## Job description

Senior Manufacturing Engineer – Space Solar

Position Details Location: Los Angeles (Hawthorne), CA Employment Type: Full-time Department: Starlight Solar Travel: Frequent

## About Starpath

Starpath develops and manufactures the technologies that will enable humans to live on the Moon and Mars. Today, we are building robotic systems that locally produce the essential commodities a lunar civilization will require at extreme scale: water, power, and oxygen. Our ultimate goal is to build and operate a self-sustaining city on Mars.

## The Role

The Starlight team is focused on dramatically improving space solar power to support Starpath's core mission and the greater space economy. Starlight manufactures the lowest cost and highest performance space solar ever, which will power the majority of new satellites built on Earth and all of Starpath's equipment on the Moon and Mars.

As a Senior Manufacturing Engineer on the Starlight team, you will own the most critical processes on our space solar manufacturing line — defining how we scale from prototype to high-rate flight production. You'll set the technical direction for process development, drive yield and rate across the line, and mentor a growing manufacturing engineering team.

## Responsibilities

- Own the technical strategy for key manufacturing processes — including cell-interconnect-coverglass (CIC) integration, interconnect welding, coverglass attach, and panel layup — from development through high-rate production
- Drive yield, rate, and cost across the solar manufacturing line, setting and hitting performance targets that scale with the business
- Design and qualify precision tooling and automated cells that protect fragile hardware, eliminate assembly error, and minimize cycle time
- Lead automation initiatives for novel processes such as cell laydown, interconnect bonding, and coverglass placement to ensure repeatability at scale
- Partner deeply with cell and panel design engineering to shape solar array architecture through design for manufacturing (DFM), driving decisions that materially reduce cost and complexity downstream
- Stand up in-process inspection systems — electroluminescence imaging, IV/flash test, and automated optical inspection of weld and bond joints — to catch defects at the source and continuously improve first-pass yield
- Lead the handoff of solar hardware from development into production, ensuring processes are documented, stable, and ready to scale
- Mentor manufacturing engineers, set technical bar, and grow the team's capability as the line scales
- Push back on unnecessary complexity — simplify specs, streamline workflows, and cut overhead wherever it doesn't add value

Required Qualifications

- Bachelor's or advanced degree in aerospace, manufacturing, materials, mechanical, electrical, or a related engineering discipline
- 6+ years of manufacturing and process design experience, with demonstrated ownership of processes from development through production
- Track record of taking manufacturing processes from prototype through qualification and into stable, high-rate production
- Experience leading technical work across cross-functional teams (design, quality, operations, supply chain)

## Preferred Qualifications

- Master's degree in an engineering discipline
- Direct experience manufacturing photovoltaic hardware — solar cells, strings, panels, or arrays — ideally multi-junction (III-V) cells for space or other high-reliability applications
- Deep expertise in cell interconnect joining processes such as parallel-gap resistance welding or tab bonding, including process development, qualification, and weld/bond inspection
- Hands-on experience scaling a manufacturing line from low-rate prototype to high-rate production, including rate readiness reviews and yield improvement campaigns
- Experience leading automation programs — defining requirements, selecting integrators, and qualifying automated cells for production use
- Proficiency with coverglass attach, encapsulation, and adhesive/RTV bonding processes for solar hardware
- Strong background in electrical characterization of solar cells and panels — LIV/flash testing, electroluminescence, and IV-curve analysis
- Proficiency in FMEA, statistical process control (Cp/Cpk), and root-cause investigation methodologies
- Experience using SQL or other data management tools to drive priorities and measure line performance
- Prior experience mentoring or leading manufacturing engineers
- Exposure to aerospace, space, or other high-reliability hardware environments

## Compensation & Benefits

- Location: Los Angeles (Hawthorne), CA
- Competitive salary plus equity package; compensation scales with candidate experience
- PTO & health/dental/vision coverage included

## EAR 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.

## Equal Opportunity

Starpath is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

## About Starpath Robotics

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Starpath Robotics designs and manufactures robotic propellant production factories for the Moon and Mars, aiming to reduce the cost of deep-space transport and enable a self-sustaining human city on Mars.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Seed stage)
- **Headquarters**: Hawthorne, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2022
- **Founders**: Saurav Shroff (CEO & Co-Founder), Mihir Gondhalekar (Co-Founder)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry/industries**: Space Research and Technology, Air Transportation, Space Travel, Robotics
- **Target customers**: B2B – space agencies (NASA), commercial space companies (e.g., Starship operators), satellite operators, and future Mars/Moon infrastructure developers.
- **Mission or purpose statement**: “Building a self-sustaining city on Mars” by producing propellant and infrastructure in space.

## Products & Services
- **Rover (R10)**: Autonomous lunar ice prospecting rover that excavates and delivers hundreds of kilograms of icy regolith. Built for NASA testing and future lunar operations.
- **Refinery System**: Full-stack hardware system for producing and distributing propellant (oxygen, hydrogen, methane) from water ice on the Moon and Mars.
- **Starlight Solar**: Space-rated solar panels that are 90% cheaper than traditional alternatives, with lead times of weeks instead of months. Available for purchase now.
- **Starlight Air**: The world’s lightest space solar panel (announced March 2026). Engineered for high-efficiency power generation.
- **Shadow Voyager**: Exploration vehicle designed for permanently shadowed regions at the Lunar South Pole.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total Funding – $12.0M (Seed round closed August 20, 2024)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: 
  - Fusion Fund (lead investor in Seed round per LinkedIn)
  - 8VC and 10 other investors (per Crunchbase)
  - Contrary, Valhalla Ventures
  - NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (testing partnership)
  - Atomic-6 (development contract for deployable lunar boom)
- **Growth Signals**: 
  - Headcount grew 73.7% year-over-year to 28 employees (LinkedIn, 2026)
  - Successful thermal vacuum chamber testing at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (2025)
  - Launch of Starlight Air solar panels (2026)
  - Active hiring for technical roles including first Technical Recruiter

## Competitive Advantages
- **Ex-SpaceX founding team**: Deep expertise in space hardware and propulsion.
- **Full-stack approach**: Covers rover mining, propellant refinery, and solar power – a vertically integrated solution for in-situ resource utilization.
- **NASA collaboration**: Early access to NASA’s test facilities (e.g., 20-ft thermal vacuum chamber) and credibility.
- **Cost disruption**: Starlight solar panels claim 90% cost reduction vs. traditional space solar.
- **First-mover on lunar ice**: Autonomous rover designed to establish the first American claim to lunar ice resources.

## Strategic Focus
- **Lunar testbed**: Use the Moon as a proving ground for Mars propellant production technology, leveraging lunar water ice.
- **City-scale infrastructure**: Scale from propellant production to energy grids, mining capacity, and life support for a self-sustaining Mars city.
- **Revenue diversification**: Selling Starlight solar panels and rover services to generate near-term revenue while pursuing long-term Mars goals.
- **Talent scaling**: Aggressively hiring to grow the engineering team (technical roles are 48% of workforce).

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Startup environment with a bold mission (“build a city on Mars”). High ownership and fast iteration – interns are expected to do “whatever needs doing.”
- **Growth**: Company growing rapidly (+73.7% YoY headcount); opportunities for early employees to take on significant responsibility.
- **Technical depth**: Team includes alumni from SpaceX, Boston Dynamics, Anduril, Astrobotic – strong engineering culture.
- **Work location**: Hawthorne, CA (HQ) with additional office in Burlingame, CA. Onsite presence expected (manufacturing and testing require hands-on work).
- **Notable perks**: Not explicitly listed, but startup equity and the chance to work on hardware that goes to the Moon and Mars.
- **Recent hiring signals**: Actively recruiting Technical Recruiter, software engineers, and rover engineers – indicating scaling phase.

## Sources
1. [starpath.space](https://www.starpath.space/)
2. [starpath.space/about](https://starpath.space/about/)
3. [crunchbase.com](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/starpath-robotics)
4. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/starpathspace)

## Other roles at Starpath Robotics

- [Intern/Associate Engineer - All Roles](https://feeny.ai/job/intern-associate-engineer-all-roles-starpath-robotics-hawthorne-x72ernec0zvg) — Hawthorne, CA
- [Chemical / Materials Engineer – Space Solar](https://feeny.ai/job/chemical-materials-engineer-space-solar-starpath-robotics-hawthorne-pjhey2tmt22v) — Hawthorne, CA
- [CNC Machinist Setup & Operation – MILL](https://feeny.ai/job/cnc-machinist-setup-operation-mill-starpath-robotics-future-factory-z0f3k4xnmat8) — Future Factory
- [CNC Machinist Setup & Operation – LATHE](https://feeny.ai/job/cnc-machinist-setup-operation-lathe-starpath-robotics-future-factory-fej8ssxcxj3d) — Future Factory
- [Senior CNC Programmer & Prototype Machinist – MILL](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-cnc-programmer-prototype-machinist-mill-starpath-robotics-future-factory-0f5924ch61c5) — Future Factory
- [Senior CNC Programmer & Prototype Machinist – LATHE](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-cnc-programmer-prototype-machinist-lathe-starpath-robotics-hawthorne-thk919345d3r) — Hawthorne, CA
- [Lead Designer](https://feeny.ai/job/lead-designer-starpath-robotics-hawthorne-axk08ca5qr0j) — Hawthorne, CA
- [Senior Flight Software Engineer - Embedded Linux](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-flight-software-engineer-embedded-linux-starpath-robotics-hawthorne-6s0rba5b8hd2) — Hawthorne, CA
- [Senior Robotics Software Engineer – Lunar Rover Localization](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-robotics-software-engineer-lunar-rover-localization-starpath-robotics-sgmwr7nk47dk) — Hawthorne, CA
- [Electrical Engineer - Space Solar](https://feeny.ai/job/electrical-engineer-space-solar-starpath-robotics-hawthorne-t4cv2by8p1mk) — Hawthorne, CA