---
title: 'Sr. Responsible Engineer - Turbomachinery (Starship) at SpaceX'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/sr-responsible-engineer-turbomachinery-starship-spacex-mcgregor-gcaq5znzcp3k'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-08'
---

# Sr. Responsible Engineer - Turbomachinery (Starship) at SpaceX

- **Company:** SpaceX
- **Location:** Mcgregor, TX
- **Posted:** 2026-07-21
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-08
- **Apply:** https://boards.greenhouse.io/spacex/jobs/8642250002?gh_jid=8642250002

## 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.

## SR. RESPONSIBLE ENGINEER - TURBOMACHINERY (STARSHIP)

This role as a responsible engineer (RE) focuses on the development of turbomachinery for Starship's fluid systems, with the goal of creating high-performance and highly manufacturable interplanetary vehicles. The position involves designing, analyzing, and building advanced turbopumps that manage pressurization for Starship throughout all phases of travel to the Moon and Mars, including in-space propellant transfer. This is a unique opportunity to expand the frontiers of turbomachinery knowledge and manage cryogenic fluids in space.

Key responsibilities include sizing turbomachinery components, performing detailed mechanical design, conducting structural and fluid analysis, and overseeing the manufacturing and assembly of parts and systems. The RE will be the primary owner of turbomachinery hardware, tasked with developing the concept of operations for each unit, from acceptance testing through in-flight performance.

## RESPONSIBILITIES:

- Collaborate with a multidisciplinary team of turbomachinery and manufacturing engineers, driving the rapid development and execution of designs for Starship's propulsion system turbomachinery
- Design, build and test turbopumps for Starship, the most advanced orbital vehicle propulsion system ever designed
- Develop and train teammates to support empowered product ownership utilizing risk-conscious decision-making skills under pressure
- Own turbomachinery product families – every engineer at SpaceX assumes profound responsibility for their hardware
- Interface with our world-class production team to ensure that your team’s designs are successfully translated into the fleet of rockets that is revolutionizing access to space
- Maintain a positive and constructive attitude in the face of technical and non-technical challenges
- Work collaboratively with commercial and governmental customers to ensure 100% mission success

## BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

- Bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline
- 5+ years of professional experience in turbomachinery design and analysis role (Structural and/or fluid)
- Professional experience with 3D CAD modeling, geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T), manufacturing process and machine setup

## PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

- Master’s degree in an engineering discipline
- Experience in a highly technical position that required a scrappy, entrepreneurial manner to enthusiastically accomplish tasks with tight time or budget constraints
- Management experience leading a technical team, cooperating with cross-functional groups to accomplish outstanding results
- Demonstrated leadership qualities through cross-functional teamwork on challenging problems
- Understanding of engineering fundamentals and the ability to perform basic analysis
- Strong desire to mentor and grow employees
- Deep understanding of thermodynamics, compressible and incompressible flow, thermochemistry mechanics, structural design in demanding environments, and/or materials
- Professional experience using Siemens NX (Unigraphics), ANSYS or Fluent
- Understanding of engineering fundamentals and the ability to perform basic analysis

## ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

- Willingness to work extended hours and weekends as needed to resolve critical technical or timing issues
- Ability to perform hands-on work in all environments (heat, cold, rain), in tight quarters or at heights
- Ability to work extended hours and weekends as needed; flexibility required
- Ability to focus while working in hazardous conditions and wearing appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE)

## 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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