Principal Mechanical Engineer (Starship)

TX · Hawthorne · Starbase, TX · 7+ years experience · Remote · Posted Sep 23, 2026

At a glance

Our elite Starbase team is working on our planet's toughest and most audacious project: making humanity multi-planetary.
The mechanical engineer is responsible for designing and building flight hardware such as propellant tanks, integration interfaces, primary structures, and structural subassemblies.
You will be empowered to make real-time decisions, solve complex problems on the fly, and own end-to-end processes.

Develop design concepts from a clean sheet and size vehicle structures based on flight loads
Collaborate with peers from different vehicle systems to develop designs that balance mass, cost, and capability
Create detailed designs to implement structural concepts and generate CAD models in NX for components, assemblies, and vehicle integration
Build finite element models to assess your designs in detail and analyze your structures to prove they meet the needs of the vehicle
Apply first-order hand calculations and empirical formulas to assess and iterate on your designs rapidly
Validate your designs by building development articles to test individual joints and design elements for strength
Perform structural testing on subassemblies and full sections of the airframe
Partner with build engineers and technicians to improve your designs
Support the assembly of your hardware in the factory, witness your designs being brought to life daily, and watch them take flight and make history

Bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline
7+ years of experience with mechanical design and analysis
Ability to work extended hours and weekends as necessary
Candidate must be capable of safely working at heights (up to 500ft), in confined spaces, using an air purifying respirator, and performing the physical requirements of the job listed in the job description

Experience designing, analyzing, building, and testing high performance, mechanical systems
Experience working within interdisciplinary teams to develop solutions to challenging and complex problems
Experience with FEA or multiphysics simulation package (e.g. NASTRAN, ABAQUS, ANSYS)
Experience designing and executing qualification testing
Strong understanding of mechanical first principles and structural analysis methodologies
Proficiency in selecting materials and manufacturing methods for mechanical components
Analytical/scientific programming experience (i.e. Python, Matlab, Excel)
Self-motivated with strong organizational, written, and oral communication skills