Manager, Vehicle Engineer (Starlink Aviation)

Location: Woodinville, Washington, United States; onsite role with 25–40% international travel

Base salary: $165,000–$245,000 per year, plus potential bonuses, stock or long-term cash awards, and employee stock purchase opportunities.

Company

SpaceX develops aerospace technologies, including Starlink Aviation, which provides high-speed, low-latency broadband connectivity on aircraft.

What you will do

• Manage and develop vehicle leads responsible for assigned aircraft product lines.
• Own airframe roadmaps, customer requirements, fleet configurations, design changes, and production plans from development through in-service operation.
• Define installation architectures for antenna, power, harnessing, equipment placement, and cabin networking while balancing mass, drag, radio-frequency performance, reliability, and installation time.
• Lead certification strategy and execution, including supplemental type certificates, approved model lists, test plans, conformity, and coordination with the FAA, EASA, and designated engineering representatives.
• Coordinate engineering, software, manufacturing, supply chain, quality, maintenance, operations, and customers to protect activation schedules and secure factory capacity.
• Support first-of-type installations and field escalations, resolve aircraft reliability issues, and brief leadership on readiness, production rates, and schedule risks.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in aerospace, mechanical, electrical, aeronautical, or another engineering discipline.
• At least 7 years of experience taking electro-mechanical or avionics products from design through certification and fielded operation.
• At least 3 years of experience leading engineers responsible for a product line, vehicle, or similarly scoped system.
• Experience with aircraft certification, preferably FAA/EASA STC, PMA, DO-160, ARP4754, or equivalent processes.
• Experience integrating radio-frequency, power, and networked systems on aircraft, and using ERP or PLM systems for engineering and manufacturing change control.
• Must satisfy U.S. ITAR requirements by being a U.S. citizen or national, lawful permanent resident, refugee, asylee, or eligible to obtain the required U.S. government authorizations.

Nice to have

• Experience owning hardware roadmaps and production or build plans against customer delivery dates.
• Experience as a technical program manager or product manager for certified airborne hardware.
• Experience introducing products to production rate, planning factory or supplier capacity, and resolving system-level failures in the field.

Culture & Benefits

• Employment includes medical, vision, dental, life, disability, and 401(k) benefits.
• Paid parental leave, approximately three weeks of paid vacation, paid holidays, and paid sick leave are provided.
• Potential long-term incentives, discretionary bonuses, and discounted employee stock purchase opportunities are available.
• Extended hours and weekends may be required for first-article installations, certification tests, and in-service issues.
• The role requires 25–40% travel, including international travel, and the ability to lift 25 pounds unassisted.