Automation & Controls Engineer

About the Role

This role owns the controls that build Starship. You will design, commission, and operate the automation behind production systems. The team owns the controls scope end to end, from a blank cabinet and a P&ID to a plant that stays up.

• Production facilities include a 24-lane, 750,000 sq ft Starship Refurbishment facility (Gigabay).
• Industrial air separation units upstream of propellant farms.
• Heat shield tile manufacturing.

This position is based in Cape Canaveral, FL.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, build, and commission the controls for a 24-lane Gigabay: production tooling, lifts, fixtures, factory services, and the data layer.
• Bring industrial air separation units online and keep them running. Own the instrumentation, interlocks, and control narratives for compression, cold box, distillation, storage, and transfer into the propellant farms.
• Own controls for heat shield tile manufacturing: thermal process equipment, material handling, inspection, and the data that ties process settings to tile quality.
• Stand up new equipment from first power-on through rate production, then own uptime once it is live.
• Develop and upgrade data acquisition and control systems as the factory, the air separation plant, and the tile line change.
• Maintain the operational capability of control-voltage (<60V) electrical systems.
• Turn sensor and PLC data into actionable insights for operators and responsible engineers.
• Support controls technicians and the mechanical, facilities, and process engineers who depend on these systems.
• Design hardware and work methods that cut cost, installation time, and recovery time for down lines.
• Analyze data to judge the health of electrical and process systems and drive improvements.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• Hands-on PLC and industrial network experience: Modbus, PROFINET, EtherNet/IP, or equivalent.
• Working knowledge of instrumentation in classified and cryogenic service (NFPA 70, NFPA 70E; Class I, Division 1 and Division 2, or IEC equivalent).
• Fundamental understanding of plant equipment: sensors, valves, drives, analyzers, power distribution, grounding, and signal integrity.
• Familiarity with mixed-signal electronics, schematic capture, and PCB design, verification, or validation.
• First-hand programming experience beyond ladder logic, sufficient to move data out of a controller for factory use.
• Knowledge of high-reliability build, test, and documentation practices.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in physics, electrical engineering, or computer engineering.
• 6+ months of experience working with data acquisition systems (internship or project experience qualifies).
• Demonstrated ability to design, implement, commission, and troubleshoot industrial control and data acquisition hardware.
• Experience commissioning process or factory equipment and supporting it in production.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong work ethic, a bias for finishing, and the ability to change roles quickly in a high-paced environment.
• Ability to drive work with incomplete information and manage multiple systems simultaneously.
• Passion for making hardware that enables flight rate.

Additional Requirements

• Ability to pass an Air Force background check for Cape Canaveral.
• Physical requirements: standing, kneeling, crouching, twisting, working in cramped positions, climbing stairs and ladders, lifting up to 25 lb unassisted.
• Availability for extended hours and weekends for commissioning or production needs.
• Ability to work around fumes, odors, flashing lights, heat, cold, and noise.
• Ability to travel to other SpaceX or third-party facilities (up to 25%).