Design Criteria Engineer (Falcon & Dragon)
Confirmed on the employer's own hiring board on Oct 19, 2026. First seen by Alion on Aug 17, 2026. SpaceX scores A on the Alion truth index.
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.
DESIGN CRITERIA ENGINEER (FALCON & DRAGON)
The SpaceX engineering teams tackle space exploration’s most challenging problems by developing our reusable launch vehicles (Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy) and spacecraft (Crew & Cargo Dragon). These vehicles are responsible for delivering satellites into orbit, crew, and cargo to the ISS, and they will be instrumental in extending humanity’s reach to the moon, Mars, and beyond.
The design criteria & reliability team is responsible for ensuring that flight hardware and operations lead to the successful completion of missions while meeting or exceeding design requirements. We perform a unique engineering role, evaluating and guiding engineering designs from concept to flight. We facilitate cross-disciplinary action and problem-solving across all SpaceX programs and staff.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Ensure that the SpaceX design process and design criteria/requirements are being followed for flight, launch, and recovery systems
- Provide critical peer review and approval of hardware designs during design reviews, and of acceptance and qualification test campaigns
- Develop design criteria, requirements, and verification approaches for new systems
- Setup new processes to enable reliable aircraft-like operations of launch vehicles and spacecraft
- Drive improvements to vehicle design by being closely integrated with hardware teams.
- Review vehicle changes to ensure all hardware and operations are qualified
- Develop specialized design and analysis tools for other engineering groups
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:
- Bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline
- 1+ years of professional experience in a hardware engineering role
PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:
- Master's degree in an engineering discipline
- Hardware experience performing fabrication, assembly, and/or testing - can be in a professional, academic, or recreational setting
- Experience with aircraft, launch vehicles, spacecraft, or other aerospace systems
- Experience with at least one commercial FEA package (NASTRAN, ABAQUS, or ANSYS)
- Hardware ownership on an award-winning engineering project or competition team (FSAE, Design-Build-Fly, NASA Student Launch, etc.)
- Experience with electromechanical system design, analysis, testing, and fabrication for use in high-performance or safety critical applications
- Hands on experience with various industry standard manufacturing tools, techniques and processes, including mills, lathes, electronics assembly, composite layup, etc.
- Experience with material selection and make vs. buy decisions for system components
- Scripting and data analysis experience using Visual Basic, Matlab, Python and Excel
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
- Must be available to work long hours and weekends as necessary
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:
Pay Range
Level I: $100,000.00 - $130,000.00/per year
Level II: $115,000.00 - $160,000.00/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:
- 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.
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 [email protected].