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Job Description

Overview

SpaceX is actively developing technologies to enable human life on Mars. The Build Supervisor for the Starship Mechanisms team will oversee the construction of mechanisms and subassemblies for the world's most powerful rocket, guiding a team of technicians and welders while ensuring high quality and safety standards.

Responsibilities

  • Oversee two shifts of Starship’s main sheet metal and assembly build center producing large stainless-steel structures.
  • Recruit, retain, and lead a diverse and productive team of approximately 30 welders and technicians.
  • Foster a collaborative, productive, safe, and fun work environment.
  • Monitor labor hours and overtime; implement improvement plans.
  • Identify training needs and develop training programs.
  • Report on efficiency and utilization metrics to improve workforce output.
  • Report on quality metrics and address workmanship issues.
  • Implement machine maintenance schedules and ensure uptime.
  • Organize, assign, and track work/deliverables for the team.
  • Maintain tooling and consumable supply inventory.
  • Improve area safety and efficiency through regular auditing.

Requirements

  • High school diploma or equivalency certificate.
  • 2+ years of experience in a leadership position.
  • Bachelor's degree or 5+ years of experience in assembly or production in aviation, aerospace, or military.
  • Experience welding in GTAW, GMAW, or laser welding.
  • Knowledge of AWS D1.1, D1.6, D17.1, and D1.2.
  • Experience with lean manufacturing principles and efficiency methods.
  • 10+ years of experience in final assembly and production in aerospace manufacturing.
  • Experience bringing teams and processes from development to production.
  • Familiarity with Design for Manufacturability, Kaizen, Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma.
  • Ability to communicate effectively with engineering and production.
  • Excellent attention to detail with outstanding work efficiency and accuracy.
  • Bachelor’s degree in a technical discipline.

Benefits

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

Additional Information

  • Must be able to stand for extended periods – 8 hours minimum.
  • Must be able to work extended hours and weekends as needed.
  • Must be able to travel for short and extended trips as needed, up to 5%.
  • Ability to pass Air Force background checks for Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg.

Benefits

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

Pay in context

At roughly $60/hr, this posting sits about 67% above the $36/hr median for welding jobs in Hawthorne, CA — toward the top of a $31–$60/hr middle band drawn from 24 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 75% of the comparable postings we have wage data for. Pay that far above local median usually comes attached to something: a harder cert requirement, travel, night shift, or overtime that isn't really optional. Worth establishing which before you accept.

The local market in Hawthorne, CA

We're tracking 24 other active welding openings in Hawthorne, CA right now, from 4 different employers. None of them were added in the last week, so this is a slower-moving market. Across California as a whole we're tracking 399 other active welding openings from 208 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 19 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 (19), Aerotek (17), and Volt (16). 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 $48/hr, Los Angeles at $38/hr, and Hawthorne at $36/hr. Hawthorne is among them.

What you'll be running

This posting calls for MIG and TIG work. MIG (GMAW) feeds a continuous wire electrode through a shielding-gas nozzle. It lays down metal fast and is forgiving on clean material, which is why it dominates production and light fabrication work. TIG (GTAW) uses a non-consumable tungsten electrode with filler added by hand, giving the operator the most control of any process. It is slow, demanding, and the standard for stainless, aluminum, and anything where the bead has to look as good as it holds.

See all lead welder openings if you want to compare this against similar roles.

Certifications this posting mentions

  • AWS D1.1 — the American Welding Society's Structural Welding Code for steel. It governs almost all building and structural steel work in the US, so a D1.1 qualification is the baseline credential for construction and ironworking.

Read straight from this posting's text. Confirm the exact qualification the employer wants before you test — requirements vary by shop even under the same code.

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. Build Supervisor (Starship Mechanisms) figures were last recalculated when this page was built.