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Lead Supplier Development Engineer, PCB/PCBA (Starshield)

SpaceX · Hawthorne, CA

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Level
Manager
Team
Quality
Base pay
$135k–$215k
Degree
Required
Experience asked
3+ years
Industry
Aerospace & defense
Posted
11 days ago

The role in 30 seconds

A management quality role at SpaceX (aerospace & defense) in Hawthorne, CA. Lead, track, and improve supplier manufacturing process development and launch readiness for new products and design changes.

They ask for
3+ years · degree required
Tools it names
Lean, Six Sigma, Root cause, PPAP, Supplier quality
Base pay
$135k–$215k

Read from the posting. The full description is below.

From the plant jobs report · week of October 19, 2026

Quality Engineer roles in California: typical posted base $101k–$149k. This one lists $135k–$215k.

Median of the low and high ends of 84 live postings that list pay, out of 179 quality engineer openings in California, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.

California plant jobs report →Pay by team and state →What moves pay →

How this role compares

Against 178 other live quality postings in California.

Base pay
About 41% above similar roles

Typical $100k–$148k, from 81 postings that list pay.

Experience asked
Less than usual (3+ vs 5+)

Similar roles usually ask 5+ years.

Skills these teams ask for most

  • ✓ Root cause 78%
  • FMEA 56%
  • ✓ Supplier quality 49%
  • AS9100 44%
  • Validation (IQ/OQ/PQ) 44%
  • ISO 9001 40%

✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.

Stands out: this posting asks for Power BI / Tableau, which few similar roles mention. If you have it, lead with it.

It asks for 3+ years. If you're close, apply anyway: requirements are a wish list. Talk to someone doing this work there first.

At a glance

Training program

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. 1

    Pick 2–3 people on the Quality team at SpaceX

    We found 7 people at this company and state: 5 in this kind of role, 2 leaders. Engineers who joined in the last year or two reply the most. See them ↓

  2. 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 Alina → (free)
  3. 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?
    • How did you land the job? What stood out in your interviews?
  4. 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. 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 Hawthorne

66 other open roles at this site · 7 people we found in quality roles at SpaceX.

All 67 roles at SpaceX →
Full description from SpaceXAs posted on their careers site.Show

Responsibilities

  • ◆Develop a team responsible for building high-performing suppliers for Starshield satellites, user terminals, and ground station products, ensuring reliability, cost, and delivery

requirements

to industrialize electronics hardware

  • ✓Work closely with supply chain, engineering, design, operations, and production to maintain consistency in supply chain policies and processes across the organization
  • ✓Lead a team of engineers to execute the following

responsibilities

  • ◆Reliability
  • ◆Implement the Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) for hardware production qualification
  • ◆Analyze supplier quality data and partner with supplier development engineers to drive supplier improvements and manufacturing development program execution
  • ◆Create, improve, and implement supplier quality and manufacturing processes
  • ◆Review supplier issues and recommend appropriate actions
  • ◆Work closely with receiving, receiving inspection, supplier quality engineering, and assurance to purge suspect/nonconforming material from inventory and throughout the organization
  • ◆Coordinate and participate in localized material review board (MRB), root cause, failure analysis, and corrective action (8D); utilize various analysis tools and make corrective action and containment recommendations
  • ◆Oversee and be accountable for supplier audits to ensure suppliers can meet part performance, delivery, and reliability expectations
  • ◆Manufacturing and Industrialization
  • ◆Understand production processes and how purchased parts integrate into higher-level assemblies
  • ◆Provide and implement Design for Manufacturing (DFM) feedback into our designs
  • ◆Develop, analyze, and present process metrics to encourage design for manufacturability, quality, and supply chain improvements
  • ◆Analyze and improve supplier processes for bottlenecks, yield, and rate limiters to meet throughput targets
  • ◆Supplier Management
  • ◆Manage supplier workflow and projects to ensure priorities are aligned with business needs
  • ◆Develop schedules and plans to bring up new parts and processes in the supply chain, and support supplier execution against timeline
  • ◆Lead, track, and improve supplier manufacturing process development and launch readiness for new products and design changes
  • ◆Process Improvement
  • ◆Develop, implement, and continuously improve business processes needed for receiving inspection operations, nonconforming hardware management, manufacturing and assembly, product traceability, and other critical business/production systems
  • ◆Leadership
  • ◆Create and implement action plans to rectify localized and systemic breakdowns with engineering, design, operations, maintenance, and leadership
  • ◆Build relationships with cross-functional groups to identify, reduce, and ultimately eliminate impacts from vendor defects
  • ◆Work with site leadership to develop future business models, establish a roadmap and measures, and execute long-term strategic plans
  • ◆Provide training on quality policies and techniques throughout the organization
  • ◆Develop and mentor a team of engineers in a fast-paced, dynamic environment

Qualifications

  • ✓Bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline
  • ✓3+ years of experience in an engineering, supply chain, or quality role

Preferred skills and experience

  • ✓Experience with PCB fabrication, SMT, advanced packaging, electronics manufacturing, and qualification
  • ✓Experience with PPAP (Production Part Approval Process)
  • ✓Master’s degree in engineering or business
  • ✓Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, or similar training/experience
  • ✓Experience with capacity modeling, process mapping, and fault analysis
  • ✓Experience with Pareto analysis, root cause, and corrective actions
  • ✓Experience with enterprise resource planning (ERP) and material

requirements

planning (MRP) systems and software

  • ✓Hands-on experience with electromechanical manufacturing techniques, processes, and equipment
  • ✓Basic proficiency with SQL, Tableau, and other data tools
  • ✓Ability to work in a fast-paced, cross-functional environment, both independently and with a team
  • ✓Ability to quickly and efficiently learn new skills on the job
  • ✓Ability to identify and maintain priorities for tasks and projects
  • ✓Strong communication and technical skills

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Show full 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.

Lead supplier development engineer, pcb/pcba (starshield)

Starshield leverages SpaceX's Starlink technology and launch capability to support national security efforts. While Starlink is designed for consumer and commercial use, Starshield is designed for government use, with an initial focus on three areas: Earth observation, communications, and hosted payloads. Designed to meet diverse mission requirements, Starshield satellites are capable of integrating a wide variety of payloads, offering unique versatility to users. With the proven ability to iterate rapidly, SpaceX's unique full-stack approach in developing end-to-end systems, from launch vehicles to user terminals, enables the deployment of capabilities at scale with unprecedented speed. Starshield's proliferated low-Earth orbit architecture provides inherent resiliency and constant connectivity to on-orbit assets, while SpaceX's proven rapid launch capability provides expedient and economical access to space.

Starshield demands a new type of supply chain. We require our suppliers to provide premium quality with rapidly evolving designs at commercial-scale volumes. We are actively looking for highly motivated candidates who possess comprehensive knowledge of manufacturing and quality tools and have unrelenting motivation to enable suppliers to succeed. This position requires a combination of proven leadership and technical capabilities.

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