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Job Description

Overview

SpaceX is actively developing technologies to enable human life on Mars. The Structures Technician (Starship) role involves modifying, repairing, and assembling rocket and spacecraft components.

Responsibilities

  • Modify, repair, assemble, and install rocket and spacecraft components and subcomponents.
  • Align parts and secure in place using clecos or tooling/hand clamps.
  • Operate and utilize sheet metal manufacturing equipment such as CNCs, brake presses, and rollers.
  • Operate and utilize advanced manufacturing equipment such as robots, welders, and manufacturing software.
  • Perform routine maintenance procedures for upkeep on tooling and equipment as required.
  • Install mechanical fasteners in correct sequence per drawing, using correct tools.
  • Facilitate and perform component and assemblies testing operations on rocket and spacecraft structures.
  • Shim and/or trim parts as required.
  • Select drill bits, reamers and/or countersinking tools for pilot and full-size holes.
  • Locate, drill pilot holes using drill motor and proper size drill bit(s).
  • Drill, ream, countersink full size holes in parts/assemblies, in proper sequence and to correct size using drill motor.
  • Disassemble parts and deburr holes using chip chasers, deburring tools, and files.
  • Use solvents to clean surfaces prior to sealing or assembly.
  • Apply sealant, Alodine, primer, adhesives, special finishes.
  • Load, lift and unload parts with use of cranes, forklifts, and custom tools.
  • Determine and obtain correct type and size fasteners.
  • Cold work holes to prepare for close tolerance fastener installation.
  • Install bushings into housings using arbor press and/or hydraulic puller.
  • Apply liquid nitrogen to facilitate installation of bushings.
  • Check work after completion of each operation to ensure it is complete per drawing.

Requirements

  • High school diploma or equivalency certificate.
  • 1+ years of experience in hardware assembly, test, maintenance, material handling, and/or installation; OR certificate from an accredited trade skills program in A&P, manufacturing, and/or electronics.
  • Experience drilling, reaming, honing and/or countersinking straight and close tolerance holes.
  • Experience gained through the military or within an aviation manufacturing company.
  • Experience using various types of hand tools and/or hand-held power tools, floor-mounted power tools and precision measuring tools.
  • Capable of visualizing a three-dimensional shape from a two-dimensional view.
  • Ability to perform basic arithmetic calculations accurately.
  • Experience making basic layouts on parts or assemblies to establish reference points.
  • Experience reading and interpreting engineering drawings, blueprints, and specifications.

Benefits

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

Additional Information

  • Must be willing to work all shifts, overtime, and weekends as needed.
  • Must be able to stand for extended periods – 8 hours min.
  • Must be able to lift up to 50 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 15% below the $36/hr median for welding jobs in Hawthorne, CA, where the middle half runs $31–$58/hr across 40 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 40 other active welding openings in Hawthorne, CA right now, from 6 different employers. 18 of them were added in the last week. Across California as a whole we're tracking 650 other active welding openings from 315 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 33 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 (33), Honeywell Aerospace (16), and Aerotek (13). 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 Santa Ana at $53/hr, Redondo Beach at $51/hr, and Long Beach at $42/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. Structures Technician (Starship) figures were last recalculated when this page was built.