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Job Description

Overview

SpaceX is developing technologies to enable human life on Mars. The Propulsion Technician (Starship) role involves working with advanced spacecraft components, focusing on hardware build and test expertise for propulsion systems.

Responsibilities

  • Deliver high-quality components for Starship and Super Heavy.
  • Utilize laser welding skills with automated machines and participate in mechanical assembly and pressure testing.
  • Maintain a safe and professional work area, recommending changes to eliminate safety hazards.
  • Set standards for efficiency and utilization across products, following procedures and communicating daily work completion.
  • Troubleshoot failure modes and collaborate with engineering to solve technical problems.
  • Grow skillset in seal installation, assembly, laser welding, and pneumatic pressure testing while training peers.

Requirements

  • High school diploma or equivalency certificate.
  • 1+ years of experience in fabrication, manufacturing/assembly, or testing.
  • Experience in weld preparation.
  • Trained in assembly or testing of propulsion, aviation, or automotive hardware.
  • A&P license.
  • Lean manufacturing (5S) knowledge and experience.
  • High attention to detail for safety and accuracy.
  • Experience with pressure/temperature/flow measurement devices and mechanical/pneumatic systems.
  • 3+ years of aerospace component testing experience.
  • Strong mathematical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
  • Basic computer experience.
  • Effective communication skills with engineering and production teams.
  • Ability to work autonomously or as part of a team.
  • Knowledge of high pressure testing.

Benefits

  • 401k
  • Health Insurance
  • Dental
  • Vision
  • PTO

Additional Information

  • Must be able to work 2nd shift hours (3pm-1am), overtime, and weekends as needed.
  • Able to lift at least 30 lbs. unassisted.

Benefits

401k
Health Insurance
Dental
Vision
PTO
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How this job compares in Hawthorne, CA

Pay in context

At roughly $31/hr, this posting comes in about 22% below the $39/hr median for welding jobs in Hawthorne, CA, where the middle half runs $31–$60/hr across 43 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 5% of the comparable postings we have wage data for. That gap is worth raising directly — in a market this size there is normally room to negotiate toward the median, particularly if you already hold the certifications the posting asks for.

The local market in Hawthorne, CA

We're tracking 44 other active welding openings in Hawthorne, CA right now, from 7 different employers. 15 of them were added in the last week. Across California as a whole we're tracking 568 other active welding openings from 264 employers. A metro this active generally means you have real leverage — employers here are competing for the same welders. Browse every welding job in Hawthorne, or widen the search to California.

SpaceX currently has 36 other openings live in California, which is usually a sign of either steady growth or steady turnover — worth asking which in the interview.

The most active employers in California at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are SpaceX (36), Relativity Space (22), and Welding Shop in Los Angeles, CA (18). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

Within California, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are Redondo Beach at $65/hr, Pasadena at $61/hr, and Santa Ana at $48/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.

Similar openings near Hawthorne, CA

Pay figures are medians computed from live postings in the Welding Pros index, not from survey data, and they move as employers post. Propulsion Technician (Starship) - 2nd Shift figures were last recalculated when this page was built.