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Operations Engineer (Raptor)

SpaceX — Aerospace · Artificial Intelligence (AI) · Automotive

Hawthorne, CA Mid Posted Feb 3, 2026
PythonSQLReact Native

About the role

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.

OPERATIONS ENGINEER (RAPTOR)

As a Raptor engineer at SpaceX you will have the opportunity to apply your knowledge, experience, and creativity to develop hardware at the cutting edge of space technology. You will build the engines that will ultimately extend humanity’s reach beyond the earth and moon. The Raptor Operations Engineering team builds the machine that makes the machine, in this case the factory that builds the world’s most advanced rocket engine. Factory build and expansion, process flow, machine moves, and project planning all fall under the scope of this team. Ops engineers have an eye for detail and simplicity and make that become reality on the factory floor. If you like strategic planning, juggling many different priorities, improving part flow, and spending most of your time away from your desk, a role on the operations engineering team may be for you!

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Design and own factory and production area layouts following the rules of clear visual indicators and linear flow

Conduct job walks with vendors, negotiate prices and hold vendors to schedule

Host process walks of production lines, and ask questions to determine what process steps can be deleted or simplified and help kick off the changes

Execute on complex projects in the minimum amount of time and expense to the business

Get hands-on, lead by example to gets projects completed rapidly

Actively develop system and process improvements between production teams

Develop tools to analyze delivery, capacity, cost problems for production to guide decisions

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

Bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline

1+ years of professional or internship experience in a manufacturing environment

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

Process engineering experience including project management, capacity modeling, process mapping, and layouts

Experience with inventory, production, and capacity planning (including MRP/ERP systems)

Experience as an industrial, operations, process or manufacturing engineer in a developmental manufacturing environment

Experience with industrial facilities: HVAC, gases, electrical, structural/foundations, etc.

1+ years of experience in using Excel, SQL, or Python/R for analysis or modeling dynamic systems

Experience with lean, six sigma, and related production principles

Ability to work well across teams and skill sets to find the simplest and best solution

Experience as a contributor to multi-disciplinary and cross-functional teams

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

This is a hands-on position that will require standing for long durations of your day and working directly with hardware on the floor

Must be comfortable stooping, bending, and standing

Position may require occasional travel, long hours or weekend work

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:

Pay range: Operations Engineer /Level I: $95,000.00 - $115,000.00/per year Operations Engineer /Level II: $110,000.00 - $130,000.00/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 EEOCompliance@spacex.com .

What the index says about this role

  • First seen by JobLarper — Aug 2, 2026, 5 days ago. Older postings collect hundreds of applicants — a tailored résumé matters more the longer a role has been live.
  • No pay range in our index for this listing. Across 1,685 indexed Software Engineer roles in US that do publish one, the middle half sits between $185k and $285k, median $225k — JobLarper's read of the market, not a figure from SpaceX.
  • What Software Engineer roles ask for — across 10,230 indexed openings: REST/APIs (46%), Backend (42%), Cloud (38%), Python (38%), Go (25%). This posting names Python.
  • SpaceX is hiring actively — 500 open roles indexed.

Derived from the 27,000 roles JobLarper indexes daily from official company boards — not from the job description above.

⚡ JobLarper watched this role appear on SpaceX's official board on Feb 3, 2026. Sign up free to get alerted minutes after roles like this go live, and tailor your real résumé to the exact description — nothing invented.

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