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Process Development Engineer

Join SpaceX as a Process Development Engineer to enhance processes for building and launching advanced rockets.

Location
Hawthorne, CA
Compensation
$100k–$135k/yr
Level
mid
Type
full time

Posted by employer 5 months ago

First seen on Joblaze 5 months ago

Last verified on the company career page 18 hours ago

AI in the day-to-day

Create AI prompts, workflows, and/or agents that execute or supplement our internal processes and applications.

Requirements

Experience
2+ years
Education
Bachelor's degree
Visa
Sponsorship available

Not disclosed in this posting: work arrangement.

Benefits

401k Match Paid Vacation Paid Sick Leave Equity/Stock Options Paid Holidays Health Insurance Parental Leave

Joblaze summary

The Process Development Engineer at SpaceX focuses on enhancing business processes and systems critical to the design, manufacturing, and reusability of advanced rockets. This role requires a solid foundation in engineering, along with experience in manufacturing environments and proficiency in software development, including scripting and database management. Ideal candidates are those with a background in Quality or Industrial Engineering, particularly those familiar with lean methodologies and complex electro-mechanical systems. The position involves collaboration across various teams, emphasizing a commitment to efficiency and quality.

Joblaze insights

  • Listed about 5 months ago — first seen on Joblaze May 20, 2026. Last confirmed on SpaceX's careers page October 27, 2026.
  • Salary band is below the typical range for comparable tech roles (median ~$129,582).
  • Starts above 10% of 339 comparable mid other roles in United States that list Python we track (median $111,197 across 66 companies). See Python salary trends
  • Python appears in 17.8% of 3265 comparable mid other roles in United States; VBA appears in 0.2% of 3265 comparable mid other roles in United States.

Quick facts

What's the salary range?
SpaceX lists $100,000–$135,000 for this role.
How much experience is required?
At least 2 years of relevant experience for this Process Development Engineer role.
What's the tech stack?
Joblaze extracted these technologies from the posting: C#, Flask, JavaScript, Lean, Minitab, Project Management.
Does SpaceX sponsor work visas for this role?
Yes — the posting indicates visa sponsorship is available for the right candidate.
What seniority level is this role?
SpaceX targets mid-level candidates for this position.
Is this full-time or contract?
Full-time for this Process Development Engineer role at SpaceX.

From the original posting

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.

PROCESS DEVELOPMENT ENGINEER - BUILD RELIABILITY

The Process Development Engineer is responsible for developing and improving business processes and systems that enable SpaceX to design, build, launch, and reuse the most advanced rockets in the world. This engineer seeks to eliminate inefficiencies and constantly questions the status quo while improving data integrity and product reliability.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

  • Develop, implement, and continuously improve business processes and policies needed for nonconforming hardware management, configuration management, manufacturing and assembly, product traceability, rocket reusability and maintenance, and other critical business/production systems.
  • Develop business use cases and software requirements for improvements to our Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.
  • Execute software tasks, potentially including writing scripts, front and back end development, and relational database querying.
  • Own ongoing support and improvement of developed software including technical debt, operational improvement, and new business process or logic implementation.
  • Create AI prompts, workflows, and/or agents that execute or supplement our internal processes and applications
  • Act as subject matter expert in multiple SpaceX processes and systems, enabling complex data gathering, troubleshooting, and problem solving.
  • Develop standardized metrics for the Production and Quality organizations.
  • Develop, review, and approve procedures ensuring completeness, accuracy, regulatory and customer compliance, and quality objectives.
  • Develop and execute training and communication plans during major process changes
  • Collaborate across disciplines including Engineering, Production, Test, Launch, Mission Operations, ERP, Supply Chain, Mission Management, Customer Contracts, and Management to ensure efficiency and consistency across the organization.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

  • Bachelor’s degree in an Engineering field
  • 2+ years of experience in a manufacturing or production environment

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

  • Experience in a Quality Engineering or Industrial Engineering role
  • Experience supporting production of complex electro-mechanical systems in high volume work centers and/or during production ramp-up
  • Knowledge of lean and quality tools such as Process Mapping, Six Sigma, Root Cause Analysis and Corrective Action, Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP), Metrology, Process Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (PFMEA), Control Plans, and various problem solving approaches
  • Knowledge of Statistical Analysis Tools such as Design of Experiments (DOE), Statistical Process Control (SPC), Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Regression Analysis, and Minitab (or similar)
  • Project Management experience, particularly related to creating or overhauling cross-functional business processes in a manufacturing environment.
  • Knowledge of database structures and SQL
  • Experience with VBA, Python, .NET, Flask, Javascript, C#, RESTful API development
  • Experience with machine learning and other technical data science topics
  • Experience with version control, testing, build, and deployment of software systems
  • Experience building AI prompts/agents/workflows and using AI code assistants
  • Experience with AS 9100, ISO 9001, ISO/TS 16949, ISO 13485, or similar Quality Management System
  • Dedicated to adopting a Lean approach to quality without compromising safety or reliability

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

  • Ability to work extended hours and weekends as needed
  • Must be willing to travel – up to 10%

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:

Pay range:
Process Development Engineer/Level I: $100,000.00 - $115,000.00/per year
Process Development Engineer/Level II: $110,000.00 - $135,000.00/per year

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, stock options, or long-term cash awards, as well as potential discretionary bonuses and the ability to purchase additional stock at a discount through an Employee Stock Purchase Plan. You will also receive access to comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, short and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, paid parental leave, and various other discounts and perks. You may also accrue 3 weeks of paid vacation and will be eligible for 10 or more paid holidays per year. Employees accrue paid sick leave pursuant to Company policy which satisfies or exceeds the accrual, carryover, and use requirements of the law.

ITAR REQUIREMENTS:

Standard company text repeated across SpaceX's postings is omitted here.

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