Sr. Manager, Power Plant (Starship)

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.

SENIOR MANAGER

SpaceX is building and operating combined-cycle gas turbine power plants that must come online, stay online, and perform. This role owns the design and build of the full power plant: gas turbines, mechanical and electrical balance of plant, and everything else that keeps the plant running at rated output, day after day. This is not a desk job. You will be constructing the power plant, owning commissioning in the control room during startup, and in the field troubleshooting.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Build, lead, and develop a multi-disciplinary power plant team spanning gas turbines, mechanical and electrical balance of plant, controls, and commissioning

• Own the full lifecycle of gas turbine power generation assets — installation, commissioning, startup, operations, and long-term maintenance — and be accountable for plant availability, reliability, and performance

• Set technical direction and execution plans for commissioning, including combustion tuning, control system checkout, protective relay testing, and performance/reliability run verification

• Own root-cause analysis and corrective action for turbine trips, forced outages, and performance degradation; drive fixes that prevent recurrence and hold the team to a no-repeat standard

• Establish and continuously improve operating procedures, startup/shutdown sequences, and abnormal operating condition playbooks

• Serve as the primary technical and commercial interface with OEMs (GE, Siemens Energy, Mitsubishi Power, Doosan) on warranty issues, LTSA scope, outage planning, and technical issues

• Plan, staff, and execute major/minor inspections, hot gas path outages, and combustion inspections in line with OEM maintenance intervals; own outage cost, duration, and quality of return-to-service

• Drive turbine performance analysis (heat rate, capacity factor, degradation curves) to identify efficiency losses and convert findings into funded corrective action

• Coordinate across balance-of-plant teams (HRSG, steam turbine, cooling systems, water treatment) to deliver integrated plant performance, not siloed subsystem success

• Own the construction-to-operations handoff with EPC contractors; ensure a clean transition from construction to commercial operation

• Develop and own spare parts strategy, critical spares inventory, and maintenance budgets; manage spend against reliability and availability targets

• Hire, coach, and retain engineers and technicians; set performance standards and grow the next generation of plant leadership

• Represent the power plant organization to internal stakeholders (operations, grid interconnection, commercial, construction) and make timely field decisions under pressure

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree and 10+ years of experience working in one or more of the following; or 14+ years of experience working utility-scale gas turbines in commissioning, operations, maintenance, or plant engineering roles

• 2+ years of project management experience leading operations

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCES:

• Working knowledge of combined-cycle plant systems: gas turbines, HRSGs, steam turbines, generators, and balance-of-plant equipment

• Experience reading and interpreting P&IDs, single-line diagrams, and turbine control logic

• Direct commissioning or operations leadership experience with GE 7/9HA, Siemens Energy SGT6/8-8000H, Mitsubishi M501/701JAC, or Doosan H-class turbines

• Experience with DCS/turbine control platforms (Mark VIe, SPPA-T3000, or equivalent)

• Familiarity with LTSA structures, OEM contract negotiation, and outage scope development

• Background in root-cause failure analysis (RCA/5-Why/Fishbone) for rotating equipment

• Experience with performance monitoring tools and heat balance modeling

• Exposure to grid interconnection requirements, PPA performance obligations, or capacity market rules

• Experience integrating power generation with co-located industrial or data center loads

• Proven ownership of plant or fleet reliability metrics (availability, forced outage rate, heat rate) and of the budgets that fund them

• Experience standing up a new plant, commissioning organization, or operations team from construction through commercial operation

• A bias toward action: comfortable making a call in the field without waiting for a committee

• Demonstrated ability to work under pressure during startup, outages, or unplanned events, with a sense of urgency and ownership over outcomes

• Experience using SOLIDWORKS, Siemens NX, or similar CAD software

• Knowledge of engineering standards and best practices such as ASME B31.3, ASME BPV Code Section VIII, and AFSPCMAN 91-710

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 EEOCompliance@spacex.com.