Supplier Development Engineer, Power Electronics (Starlink)
Job description
SpaceX was founded under the belief that a future where humanity is out exploring the stars is fundamentally more exciting than one where we are not. Today SpaceX is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal of enabling human life on Mars.
SUPPLIER DEVELOPMENT ENGINEER, POWER ELECTRONICS (STARLINK)
Starlink User Terminal business is experiencing exponential growth across consumer, retail, enterprise, and mobility applications. This rapid expansion requires a highly resilient and scalable supply chain for power electronics, including power conversion modules, power supply units, and critical power components. The role entails early engagement in supplier selection, equipment selection, and process engineering to set programs up for success in high-volume manufacturing by ensuring material and process corners are fully completed. The role also includes ownership to deliver on time, monitor field performance, react to issues, and feed lessons learned back to engineering teams for iterative improvement.
We are seeking a technically strong Supplier Development Engineer to drive end-to-end supplier development for the power electronics portfolio — from strategic supplier selection and new product introduction (NPI) through high-volume production scaling and reactive quality support. The ideal candidate will bring deep expertise in power electronics design and manufacturing, along with the ability to provide technical guidance on power conversion topologies, semiconductors, and thermal systems. The Supplier Development Engineer, Power Electronics will be responsible for executing supplier strategies focused on power conversion modules, power supply units, and associated power components. This position will have significant technical influence across Starlink engineering, quality, and supply chain teams.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Own end-to-end supplier development for the power electronics and power conversion portfolio within the Starlink User Terminal Bill of Materials, spanning strategic supplier selection, new product introduction (NPI), qualification, production ramp, and reactive quality support
- Engage early with suppliers on selection, equipment selection, and process engineering to properly set up high-volume manufacturing programs by ensuring material and process corners are fully characterized and completed
- Assess supplier manufacturing capabilities, process controls, and technical readiness for high-volume production of power electronics, including silicon, silicon carbide (SiC), and gallium nitride (GaN) based designs, power conversion topologies, magnetics, capacitors, and thermal management solutions
- Lead new product introduction (NPI) activities, production part approval process (PPAP), first article inspections (FAI), production rate ramps, and reliability campaigns to enable full-rate, high-volume manufacturing
- Develop and execute robust qualification plans tailored to power electronics, including power cycling, thermal validation, highly accelerated life testing (HALT), highly accelerated stress screening (HASS), corner-case testing, gate drive validation, and electromagnetic interference and electromagnetic compatibility (EMI/EMC) compliance
- Create and standardize qualification protocols across the power electronics supply base, including equipment buy-off checklists, factory acceptance tests (FAT), site acceptance tests (SAT), and consistent reliability demonstration methods
- Drive supplier performance improvement through Lean methodologies, supplier scorecards, process audits, and systematic problem solving to deliver measurable gains in quality, cost, and on-time delivery
- Perform root cause analysis and lead corrective actions for quality issues, with focus on common power electronics failure modes such as metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) and gallium nitride (GaN) device failures, capacitor degradation, thermal runaway, solder fatigue, bond wire lift, and gate oxide breakdown
- Perform reactive quality engineering support, including rapid containment, root cause analysis using eight disciplines (8D) and five-whys (5-Why) methodologies, and corrective actions for quality escapes, field returns, and production issues
- Own on-time delivery of qualification and production ramp activities while continuously monitoring field performance, reacting quickly to issues, and feeding lessons learned from field data back to design and process engineering teams for iterative product and process improvement
- Partner closely with Power Electronics Design Engineering, Test Engineering, and Production teams to ensure supplier processes and manufacturing capability align with Starlink’s high-volume product requirements and performance goals
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:
- Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, power electronics, or other engineering discipline
- 1+ years of experience in power electronics, quality engineering, reliability engineering, or supplier development
PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCES:
- Strong technical background in power conversion topologies, power semiconductors, magnetics, thermal management, and electromagnetic interference and electromagnetic compatibility (EMI/EMC)
- 3+ years of experience in power electronics, quality engineering, reliability engineering, or supplier development
- Expert-level knowledge of power electronics manufacturing processes, failure modes, and reliability challenges
- Hands-on experience with production part approval process (PPAP), advanced product quality planning (APQP), design failure mode and effects analysis (DFMEA), process failure mode and effects analysis (PFMEA), and first article inspection (FAI) for power components
- Deep familiarity with relevant standards including IPC-9592 for power conversion electronics, International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 62368-1 safety standard, Automotive Electronics Council (AEC) Q101, AS9100 quality management system, and MIL-STD requirements
- Practical experience qualifying gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC) metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs), gate drivers, high-reliability capacitors, and magnetic components for high-volume production
- Strong problem-solving skills using structured root cause analysis methods and statistical tools such as Minitab, design of experiments (DOE), and Six Sigma
- Knowledge of reliability engineering practices such as Weibull analysis, accelerated life testing, and power electronics-specific failure mechanism analysis.
- Ability to read and interpret two-dimensional drawings, schematics, and technical specifications
- Experience with Lean manufacturing concepts, supplier scorecard systems, and high-volume process capability
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to distill complex technical topics into clear one-pagers and presentations
- Demonstrated ability to influence cross-functional teams and suppliers in a fast-paced, high-growth environment
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
- Ability to travel up to 25% of the time, both domestically and internationally.
- Position may require extended working hours and occasional weekends to support production ramps and critical issue resolution.
- Hands-on knowledge of high-volume manufacturing processes for power conversion modules and power supply units.
- Experience with PPAP, APQP, PFMEA, DFMEA, and First Article Inspection specifically for power electronics components.
- Familiarity with relevant standards including IPC-9592, IEC 62368-1, AEC-Q101, AS9100, and environmental stress testing requirements.
- Practical experience qualifying Si, SiC, and GaN MOSFETs, gate drivers, high-reliability capacitors, and magnetic components for high-volume production.
- Strong problem-solving skills using 8D, 5-Why, fishbone analysis, and statistical methods (JMP, Design of Experiments, Six Sigma).
- Knowledge of reliability engineering practices such as Weibull analysis, accelerated life testing, and power electronics-specific failure mechanisms.
- Ability to read and interpret 2D drawings, schematics, and technical specifications.
- Experience with Lean manufacturing concepts and supplier scorecard systems.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to distill complex technical topics into clear one-pagers and presentations.
- Demonstrated ability to influence cross-functional teams and suppliers in a fast-paced, high-growth environment.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
- Ability to travel up to 25% of the time, both domestically and internationally.
- Position may require extended working hours and occasional weekends to support production ramps and critical issue resolution.
- This position is based in Bastrop, TX and requires being onsite
ITAR REQUIREMENTS:
- To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.
SpaceX is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with SpaceX is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.
Applicants wishing to view a copy of SpaceX’s Affirmative Action Plan for veterans and individuals with disabilities, or applicants requiring reasonable accommodation to the application/interview process should reach out to [email protected].