Job brief: Design Criteria Engineer (Starshield)

What JoRoute checked · Checked by JoRoute

• Listed on SpaceX's own job board. JoRoute does not take listings from job ads or recruiters.
• First seen by JoRoute 2026-11-10 (today); last confirmed on the board 2026-11-10.
• The apply link opens boards.greenhouse.io, the address SpaceX's board gives for this job.
• The same title for the same place was listed 1 other time on this board in the last 90 days: several openings, or a re-posted job.
• No layoff notices (WARN) under this name in the state files JoRoute reads.

What the listing says · Employer's own words, not checked

• Pay: $100,000 to $160,000 a year
• Job type: Not stated
• Where: Hawthorne, CA
• Posted: 2026-11-09

What the job asks · Employer's own words, not checked

Level: Entry level. The posting asks for 1+ years of experience.

Must have

• Bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline.
• 1+ years of experience in an engineering role (professional, project team, internship, or extracurricular experience all apply).
• Advanced degree in an engineering discipline.
• 5+ years professional experience in an engineering role (design, analysis, test, or manufacturing).
• Must have an ongoing drive for continuous improvement in all aspects of work.
• An active clearance may provide the opportunity for you to work on sensitive SpaceX missions;

Conditions

• Ability to work extended hours and weekends as necessary.
• Ability to travel up to 10% of the time.
• You may also accrue 3 weeks of paid vacation and will be eligible for 10 or more paid holidays per year.
• 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/…

Main duties

• Develop and own design criteria, requirements, and verification approaches for new satellite systems. Continuously improve these processes with stakeholder e…
• Perform critical peer review of hardware designs during design reviews, and of acceptance and qualification test campaigns, and approve plans based on the st…
• Guide engineers through the SpaceX design process and ensure design criteria/requirements are being followed for satellite design, manufacturing, and test ac…
• Provide development input such as analysis or test recommendations on a wide range of engineering problems encompassing electrical, structural, and radio fre…
• Leverage involvement in broad spectrum of development efforts to be an expert resource for defining vehicle maturity status in key program reviews and commun…

Lines copied from the posting, not rewritten. "Preferred" or "nice to have" items are not listed as must-haves.

How it compares · Compared by JoRoute from listings

• Typical listed pay for engineer jobs in California: $187k a year (1,964 listings, 69 employers). This listing is 30% lower.
• Across SpaceX's 2,901 open listings, 59% of those with a posting date were first posted more than 60 days ago. How SpaceX hires

What nobody outside the employer knows · Not known

• Whether the role is already filled or on hold: employers often leave listings up.
• How many people applied, and who reads the applications.
• Where in the published range an offer would land.

Ask before you apply

1. How many people are you hiring for this role, and is it a new opening or a re-posted one?
2. What are the interview steps, and when should I expect to hear back?

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