Tooling Engineer, AI Satellites (Starmind)
SpaceX · Bastrop, TX
- Level
- Engineer
- Team
- Manufacturing
- Degree
- Required
- Experience asked
- 3+ years
- Industry
- Aerospace & defense
- Posted
- 30+ days ago
The role in 30 seconds
An engineer-level manufacturing role at SpaceX (aerospace & defense) in Bastrop, TX. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C.
- They ask for
- 3+ years · degree required
- Tools it names
- CNC, Machining, Injection molding, Stamping, Casting, Tooling
Read from the posting. The full description is below.
From the plant jobs report · week of October 19, 2026
Manufacturing Engineer roles in Texas: typical posted base $79k–$132k.
Median of the low and high ends of 33 live postings that list pay, out of 148 manufacturing engineer openings in Texas, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.
Texas plant jobs report →Pay by team and state →What moves pay →
How this role compares
Against 147 other live manufacturing postings in Texas.
- Base pay
- Not listed in this posting
- Experience asked
- Less than usual (3+ vs 5+)
Typical $79k–$132k, from 33 postings that list pay.
Similar roles usually ask 5+ years.
Skills these teams ask for most
- ✓ Tooling 57%
- Root cause 51%
- Lean 39%
- New product launch 39%
- Automation 34%
- Six Sigma 28%
✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.
Stands out: this posting asks for CNC, Injection molding, Stamping, Casting, which few similar roles mention. If you have it, lead with it.
At a glance
Pulled from the posting text. If it's not listed here, the posting didn't say.
How to get in at this plant
Five moves over a week or two. The first one takes ten minutes.
- 1
Pick 2–3 people on the Manufacturing team at SpaceX
We found 1 person at this company and state: 1 leaders. Engineers who joined in the last year or two reply the most. See them ↓
- 2
Send a short, curious note
One real question about their work. No favors yet. Each person gets a different note, written for this role.
Write to Andres → (free) - 3
Turn a reply into a short call
Questions worth asking about this team:
- What does a normal week look like on your team?
- Is the work mostly new product launches or sustaining existing lines?
- How much time do you spend on the floor versus at a desk?
- How did you land the job? What stood out in your interviews?
- 4
Apply with someone vouching for you
If the call went well, ask whether they’d pass your résumé to the hiring manager. Send your résumé link, apply that day, and let them know.
- 5
Bring proof to the interview
One page of before-and-after numbers from projects you led: scrap, OEE, cycle time, cost. Plant managers hire on results.
This plant: SpaceX in Bastrop
157 other open roles at this site · 1 person we found in manufacturing roles at SpaceX.
- Facilities Specialist, Solar Cell Factory (Starlink) · Reliability · Specialist
- Lead Operations Engineer · Production · Manager
- Sr. Supplier Development Engineer (Starlink) · Quality · Senior
- Lead Production Technician, Solar Cells (Starlink) · Production · Technician
- PECVD Process Engineer, Solar Cells (Starlink) · Process
- Process Specialist, Vendor Management (Starlink) · Process · Specialist
Full description from SpaceXAs posted on their careers site.ShowHide
Responsibilities
- ◆Develop machining capability in-house for the tool & die team and deliver high-quality precision piece parts required to build internal tooling
- ◆Analyze piece parts and assemblies for DFM to ensure that the parts are optimized for manufacturing and assembly
- ◆Create collaborative business plans with design engineering, upstream production, and support teams and develop and maintain positive supplier/customer relationships
- ◆Work between manufacturing and design engineers, machinists, technicians, and quality personnel to ensure processes are robust and any production problems are quickly solved
- ◆Implement machining process controls that allow parts to run ‘lights out’. Leverage latest technologies and programming strategies to reduce in-cycle intervention
- ◆Identify, recommend, procure, and install machine shop equipment as well as ensure all equipment is thoroughly maintained and calibrated
- ◆Responsible for cost optimization and cost reduction initiatives associated with fabrication and processes
- ◆Continually develop and manage engineering capacity, schedules, and project plans in order to support production manifest as well as a diverse and variable R&D demand
- ◆Research and identify new materials, manufacturing technologies and finishing options
- ◆Inform estimations of prototype and production manufacturing costs - tooling, secondary assembly, secondary finishing and piece part
- ◆Publish and maintain detailed schedules for each development project segment
Qualifications
- ✓Bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline
- ✓3+ years of experience with CNC machining
Preferred skills and experience
- ✓Master’s degree or PhD in an engineering discipline
- ✓Strong to expert level 3D CAD skills, including advanced surfacing and large assemblies
- ✓Experience with Siemens NX
- ✓Experience transitioning products from design to manufacturing and scaling to high volume as part of a cross-functional team
- ✓Experience with manufacturing process like injection molding, CNC, die casting, stamping, assembly, and box build in a production setting and a good understanding of the costs and schedule and complexity associated with each process
Requirements
- ✓Ability to work extended hours or weekends as needed for mission critical deadlines
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 .
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 .
Show full description ↓Show less ↑
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.
Tooling engineer, ai satellites (starmind)
SpaceX is leveraging its experience deploying and operating the world’s largest satellite constellation to develop Starmind, a new constellation of satellites capturing solar energy in space to power low-cost, high-performance AI compute for Earth. Realizing this vision demands highly reliable, high performance electrical compute hardware, solar power systems, thermal radiators, and more. These systems must operate in the extreme environment of space while delivering the connectivity, control, power distribution, and processing needed for orbital AI inference.
The Starmind team designs, builds, and operates the orbital compute fabric of the future. We develop nearly every key piece of technology in house – from the satellites’ flight computers and power systems to the fully custom compute electronics, memory, and networking that form the brain of our on-orbit data centers. As a Tooling Engineer on the Starmind team, you’ll have ownership over the entire manufacturing line for the hardware that enables advanced on-orbit AI processing and data center workloads. Your work spans the assembly, integration, and testing of industry-leading compute electronics, memory, and networking in order to achieve required domain sizes and processing workloads.