Rack Design Engineer (Starmind)

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.

RACK DESIGN ENGINEER (STARMIND)

The Starmind Compute team designs training and inference compute clusters from first principles, pushing thermal, electrical, and optical systems to the limit of physics. We operate as a highly cross disciplinary team comprised of mechanical, electrical, optical, and software engineers, all working to maximize the efficiency, reliability, and deployment speed of terrestrial computing to serve rapidly scaling demand.

This team owns compute architecture, datacenter network design, rack builds, connectivity, in-house design of our own computers, and the manufacturing line that builds that compute. As a Rack Design Engineer, you will own the rack as a product: structure, power, cooling, service paths, and the physical integration of servers, switches, optics, and liquid cooling from first sketch through production rate.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Own mechanical, structural, and integration design of high-density AI compute racks and associated chassis, frames, busbars, manifolds, and cable/fiber raceways

Integrate compute, networking, power distribution, and liquid cooling into a buildable, serviceable, high-yield rack architecture

Design for the in-house manufacturing line: DFM/DFA, fixtures, work instructions, incoming inspection, first article, and production ramp

Close thermal, structural, and power constraints with cooling, electrical, optical, and network counterparts at the cluster level (CDUs, cold plates, quick disconnects, PDUs/busbars, high-current distribution, tray and bend-radius limits)

Drive vendor and in-house parts from concept to qualified production, including sheet metal, extrusions, busbar, manifolds, cable management, and rack accessories

Stand on the floor during prototype and production builds: debug fit, leak, cable dress, airflow/liquid balance, and service time; fold issues into the next revision the same day

Produce and maintain CAD, BOMs, drawings, and build documentation that a line can run at volume

Support cluster deployment of the racks you design, including first-site bring-up and feedback into the next hardware generation

Partner with network, optical, electrical, and firmware teams to deploy custom compute for inference and training across SpaceX programs

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, or another engineering discipline

2+ years of professional experience designing electromechanical hardware that was built and shipped (internship and project experience counts toward this if the hardware was physically produced)

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

Ownership of rack, chassis, or similarly dense electromechanical products through prototype and production

Experience or background in ethernet switching, networking, interconnects, high power distribution, and other relevant data center technologies

CAD fluency in SolidWorks, Creo, or NX, with released drawings a shop and a factory can build from

AI / HPC / GPU rack design: NVIDIA HGX/GB-class, custom OCP, or equivalent high-power liquid-cooled compute

Liquid cooling design: cold plates, manifolds, CDUs, quick disconnects, leak detection, and coolant compatibility

High-power rack electrical integration: busbar, PDU, 48V, high-current 3-phase, grounding, and service safety

Cable and fiber physical design inside the rack (MPO/OSFP dress, bend radius, service loops) in partnership with optical and network engineers

Experience taking a rack from NPI onto an in-house manufacturing line (fixtures, cycle time, poka-yoke, rework loops)

Thermal and structural analysis (CFD, FEA) used to make a design decision

Time at a high-velocity hardware organization: AI/GPU cloud, custom compute, or an OEM/ODM team that owned the product end to end

Comfort in a factory or datacenter build environment, including first articles, yield, and hardware debug on the floor

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

Must be willing to work extended hours and weekends as needed to support design releases, line bring-up, and cluster deployments

Must be willing to travel up to 30% to manufacturing and datacenter sites

Ability to lift up to 25 lbs. unassisted and work around active factory and datacenter hardware

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].