{"id":2580738,"url":"https://alion.io/job/spacex-materials-engineer-polymers-dragon","title":"Materials Engineer, Polymers (Dragon)","company":{"id":66,"name":"SpaceX","domain":"spacex.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/spacex","size_band":"5000+","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Greenhouse","truth_index":{"grade":"A","score":91,"open_postings":20,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":0.15,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":84,"computed_at":"2026-10-15T05:46:00Z"}},"role":"Industrial Engineering","role_family":"Industrial Engineering","seniority":"junior","employment_type":null,"work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Hawthorne, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":100000,"max":130000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":130000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":1,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":true,"technologies":[],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-10-14T23:47:05Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-14","last_verified_at":"2026-10-15T21:20:30Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":0,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":0},"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.\nMATERIALS ENGINEER, POLYMERS (DRAGON)\nAs an engineer within the Materials Engineering department, you will use your knowledge, experience, and creativity to solve difficult material and process challenges to enable highly reliable, low-cost, and continuous access to space, and to ensure safe spaceflight of crew and critical cargo.\nRESPONSIBILITIES:\nOwn multi-flight qualification and certification of polymeric and elastomeric materials used on Dragon. These materials include structural and non-structural plastics and adhesives, coatings, elastomeric seals, thermal protection systems (TPS), textiles, and composites.\nProvide guidance to engineering and production teams on materials selection, testing and analysis of non-metallic materials\nLead root cause investigations and failure analysis as a subject matter expert in nonmetallic materials\nDevelop innovative material solutions that increase performance life, improve reliability, and reduce refurbishment processing\nGuide design changes through ownership of material specifications, requirements, property allowable generation, drawing reviews, and manufacturability assessments\nOwn external customer communication and deliverables regarding certification and launch readiness, alongside coordinating technical discussions with multidisciplinary teams\nInterface with suppliers on technical issues, including material non-conformances and root cause investigations\nBASIC QUALIFICATIONS:\nBachelor’s degree in materials science and engineering, polymer science, chemical engineering, chemistry, physics, or a STEM field\n1+ years of hands-on experience in materials characterization, manufacturing, and/or materials development (internship or project experience accepted)\nPREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:\nMaster’s degree or PhD in materials science and engineering, polymer science, chemical engineering, chemistry, physics, or a STEM field\nHands-on experience developing, processing, testing, and qualifying aerospace polymeric and elastomeric materials, including silicones, structural adhesives, sealants, plastics, textiles, composites, and thermal protection materials\nExperience in polymer characterization methods and laboratory techniques, including SEM-EDS, FTIR, DSC, TGA, LFA, DMA, TMA, rheometry, optical microscopy, and mechanical property testing\nExperience in failure analysis, with broad knowledge of degradation mechanisms and failure modes of polymeric materials\nEffective written and verbal communication skills\nDemonstrated attention to detail and a record of producing accurate technical deliverables\nStrong interpersonal and collaborative skills, with a strong desire to both learn from and mentor others\nExperience preparing clear technical deliverables for engineering teams and external customers\nDemonstrated ability to work autonomously in a fast-paced, demanding work environment\nAbility to create creative and scrappy solutions to evaluate material problems\nADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:\nAble to work longer hours and weekends to support critical needs\nWillingness to travel as needed\nCOMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:\nPay Range:\nLevel 1: $100,000.00 - $130,000.00\nLevel 2: $115,000.00 - $160,000.00\nYour 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.\nBase 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 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.\nITAR REQUIREMENTS:\nTo 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. \nSpaceX 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.\nApplicants 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 .","description_format":"text","description_chars":5470,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":1,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"bachelor","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Life insurance","Parental leave","Retirement plans"],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"United States","iso":"US","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Plastics & Polymers","Satellite Communications","Launch Services","Satellite Manufacturing"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-10-15T01:48:20Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":90,"band":"hot","label":"Hiring now","p_open":1,"p_active":0.903,"p_room":1,"age_days":0,"expected_fill_days":84,"reasons":["conf:3","velocity","win:early","comp:junior,brand"],"computed_at":"2026-10-15T05:46:00Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":130000,"is_top_pay":true},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/spacex-materials-engineer-polymers-dragon","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/spacex-materials-engineer-polymers-dragon.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-15T22:47:40Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":34602,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-16T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":66},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=66"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fspacex-materials-engineer-polymers-dragon"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fspacex-materials-engineer-polymers-dragon"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fspacex-materials-engineer-polymers-dragon"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/spacex-materials-engineer-polymers-dragon\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fspacex-materials-engineer-polymers-dragon"}]}