Supplier Quality Specialist (Starlink Aviation)
SpaceX · Woodinville, WA
- Level
- Specialist
- Team
- Quality
- Base pay
- $85k–$115k
- Travel
- 25%
- Degree
- Required
- Experience asked
- 2+ years
- Industry
- Aerospace & defense
- Posted
- 30+ days ago
The role in 30 seconds
A specialist quality role at SpaceX (aerospace & defense) in Woodinville, WA.
- They ask for
- 2+ years · degree required
- Tools it names
- Lean, Root cause, CAPA, GD&T, AS9100, Supplier quality
- Base pay
- $85k–$115k
- Day to day
- about 25% travel
Read from the posting. The full description is below.
From the plant jobs report · week of October 19, 2026
Quality Engineer roles in Washington: typical posted base $100k–$135k. This one lists $85k–$115k.
Median of the low and high ends of 17 live postings that list pay, out of 26 quality engineer openings in Washington, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.
Washington plant jobs report →Pay by team and state →What moves pay →
How this role compares
Against 25 other live quality postings in Washington.
- Base pay
- About 15% below similar roles
- Experience asked
- Less than usual (2+ vs 3+)
Typical $100k–$135k, from 16 postings that list pay.
Similar roles usually ask 3+ years.
Skills these teams ask for most
- ✓ Root cause 100%
- ✓ Lean 88%
- ✓ AS9100 58%
- New product launch 58%
- Six Sigma 54%
- ✓ Supplier quality 54%
✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.
Stands out: this posting asks for Injection molding, 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 Quality team at SpaceX
We found 9 people at this company and state: 6 in this kind of role, 2 leaders, 1 recruiters. 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 Robin → (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?
- Which standards drive the work here: ISO 13485, IATF 16949, AS9100?
- How much of the job is customer complaints versus prevention?
- The posting says about 25% travel. Between which sites?
- 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 Woodinville
13 other open roles at this site · 9 people we found in quality roles at SpaceX.
- Industrial Maintenance Technician (Starlink) - 2nd Shift - Level 4/5 · Reliability · Technician
- Entry Level Production Technician (Starlink Aviation) · Production · Technician
- Hardware Reliability Specialist (Starlink Aviation) · Reliability · Specialist
- Sr. Hardware Reliability Engineer (Starlink Aviation) · Reliability · Senior
- Business Operations Manager (Starlink Aviation) · Production · Manager
- Operations Engineer (Starlink Aviation) · Production
Full description from SpaceXAs posted on their careers site.ShowHide
Responsibilities
- ◆Improve the issue ticket landscape as it pertains to our specific products
- ◆Dissect the issue ticket landscape and identify specific actions to improve vendor performance
- ◆Own the non-conformances that are found at vendors (Supplier Deviation Requests), IQC (Incoming Quality Control), and production. Partner with the vendors to institute new processes or actions to reduce the number of issues and reduce supply chain risk
- ◆Improve our existing quality management processes while working with vendors to improve their performance
- ◆Manage our containment, receiving, and precision inspection non-conformances, and find a path of resolution for the non-conformances that exist, carrying out any required disposition actions. In parallel, identify ways to enhance and update the variables surrounding these processes, to reduce the total issue ticket landscape
- ◆Create improvements within SpaceX’s supply base to facilitate a more stable supply chain
- ◆Provide technical support onsite at suppliers as appropriate to ensure part reliability
- ◆Work closely with engineering, procurement and production teams to assure high-quality parts and services that meet all
requirements
- ✓Analyze quality metrics to identify trends and pinpoint systemic root causes
- ✓Partner with Supply Chain Reliability Engineers to eliminate recurring non-conformances and ensure part reliability, including supplier improvement plans
- ✓Review and assess supplier manufacturing processes and quality systems, including new supplier onboarding and audit evaluation
- ✓Provide feedback as appropriate on manufacturing methods and technologies during supplier product lifecycle
- ✓Execute supply chain non-conformance management processes, including SDR, MRB, return to vendor (RTV), supplier corrective and preventive action (CAPA), and Production Issue Ticket review
- ✓Support containment actions associated with non-conforming product, including identification of scope, removal of impacted parts from production, management of all sorting activities, and coordination with Supply Chain Reliability Engineers to mitigate flight risk and actions required to drive root cause analysis
- ✓Cultivate network across SpaceX and build relationships with cross-functional groups to identify, reduce and ultimately eliminate impacts from vendor defects
- ✓Assist the team in developing policies, standards, processes, and documentation as necessary to ensure continued success
Qualifications
- ✓High school diploma or equivalency certificate
- ✓2+ years of experience in engineering, supply chain, manufacturing or quality OR a bachelor's degree in engineering or supply chain
Preferred skills and experience
- ✓Bachelor’s degree in engineering or supply chain
- ✓Experience with sharing information and influencing others. Strong written and verbal communication skills, able to liaise cross functionally, internally and externally, make presentations to team members and management
- ✓Strong understanding of manufacturing processes and technical
requirements
- ✓Deep technical domain experience in one or more commodity types, such as machined, injection molded, or electronic parts
- ✓Experience reading engineering drawings, including Geometric Dimension and Tolerance (GD&T)
- ✓Experience with AS9100 or similar quality management system standard
- ✓Knowledge of supplier quality processes (Part or Supplier Approval Processes, First Article Inspection Reports, etc.)
- ✓Direct experience interfacing with suppliers, corrective/ preventive action systems, supplier portals
- ✓Experience in a supplier development capacity
- ✓Proficiency in MS Office applications
- ✓Proficiency with lean concepts and statistical and data analytics
Requirements
- ✓Position may involve extended hours and weekend work when needed to meet critical deadlines
- ✓Must be able to travel - up to 25% work week travel
- ✓This position is based in Woodinville, WA and requires being onsite - remote work not considered
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.
Supplier quality specialist (starlink aviation)
SpaceX demands a new type of supply chain. We require our suppliers to provide premium quality with rapidly evolving designs at increasingly ambitious volumes. We are actively looking for candidates who possess comprehensive knowledge of manufacturing and quality tools and have unrelenting motivation to enable suppliers for success.
The Starlink Supply Chain Reliability team is chartered with global quality surveillance of the supply base, reducing supply chain risk through external evaluations and internal risk reviews, leading failure investigations, and proactively driving source qualification activities.
This position supports the Supply Chain Reliability team by managing tactical supplier quality activities with operational rigor, providing high service levels to all stakeholders, and helping focus engineering resources on high-priority and proactive actions. This includes eliminating the impact of vendor-caused defects on SpaceX engineering and production through rapid defect containment, resolution, and corrective/preventive action.
Pay Range
Level 1: $85,000.00 - $115,000.00
Level 2: $100,000.00 - $140,000.00
Your actual level and base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills, education, and experience.
Base salary is just one part of your total rewards package at SpaceX. You may also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the form of company stock or long-term cash awards, as well as potential discretionary bonuses and the ability to purchase additional stock at a discount thr