Industrial Designer

About the role

Join the Starlink team to create hardware that connects the world. You will manage the full product lifecycle from early sketches to final production, ensuring our consumer technology is both functional and visually distinct. In this role, you are responsible for owning the end to end design language of our consumer hardware, translating abstract mission goals into tangible objects that users can interact with daily. You will act as the primary design authority, making critical decisions that shape form, fit, and function across multiple development streams. The position requires you to balance aggressive development timelines with the need for durable, high quality aesthetic results that reflect the SpaceX brand. You will be expected to challenge conventional thinking and introduce innovative solutions that align engineering constraints with user expectations. Success in this role means delivering designs that are not only visually compelling but also manufacturable, testable, and ready for mass production at scale.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Develop design strategies that balance technical requirements with visual impact, defining the overarching aesthetic direction for new products.
• Build and test prototypes using 3D printing and physical mockups to speed up development, validating form and function before committing to costly tooling.
• Address mechanical and ergonomic issues through refined design updates, iterating on geometry to improve comfort, usability, and reliability.
• Create high-fidelity surface models and renderings for components and full assemblies, producing clear visual communication for stakeholders.
• Guide design direction and provide feedback throughout the hardware development cycle, ensuring alignment with engineering, marketing, and regulatory constraints.
• Present design concepts to engineering and leadership teams, articulating design decisions in a clear and persuasive manner to secure buy in.
• Partner with cross-functional departments to transition prototypes into mass production, supporting tooling reviews, process validation, and quality checks.
• Refine internal prototyping workflows and tools, identifying opportunities to improve efficiency, reduce iteration time, and enhance collaboration.
• Conduct design verification testing, observing prototype performance in real world conditions and documenting findings for future iterations.
• Maintain detailed design documentation, ensuring that all changes, decisions, and rationales are recorded for traceability and knowledge sharing.
• Support the creation of user manuals, installation guides, and other documentation that reflects the final design intent and usage scenarios.
• Evaluate competitive products and market trends, extracting insights that inform differentiation and long term design language.
• Liaise with manufacturing partners to resolve production issues, ensuring that designs are faithfully realized at scale without compromising intent.
• Champion sustainability and material efficiency, proposing solutions that reduce waste and improve the environmental profile of hardware.

Requirements

• Bachelor degree in industrial design, transportation design, product design, or architecture, demonstrating a foundational understanding of form, structure, and user experience.
• Minimum 1 year of professional experience in industrial or transportation design, proving your ability to deliver real world design solutions.
• Must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, refugee, or asylee to meet ITAR requirements, ensuring compliance with export control regulations.
• Submission of a visual portfolio is required, showcasing your design process, final outcomes, and ability to communicate ideas visually.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing constraints, material selection, and assembly methods, with a track record of designing for production.
• Demonstrated skill in creating and interpreting technical drawings, ensuring clarity and accuracy when communicating with engineering teams.
• Proven ability to manage multiple design tasks simultaneously, prioritizing workload to meet aggressive project deadlines.
• Commitment to maintaining high standards of craftsmanship and attention to detail in every design deliverable.

Nice to have

• 3+ years of professional industrial design experience, indicating a deeper familiarity with complex design challenges and cross functional collaboration.
• Proficiency in NX, Rhino, or SolidWorks, enabling efficient handling of large 3D assemblies and complex design histories.
• Ability to manage large 3D assemblies and complex design histories, ensuring performance and reliability of models throughout development.
• Expertise in manufacturing processes and assembly techniques, including injection molding, sheet metal, and post processing methods.

Skills & tools

• 3D modeling, encompassing both surface and solid techniques to create robust, manufacturable geometry.
• Sketching and visualization, using both digital and analog methods to quickly explore and communicate ideas.
• Prototyping, employing a range of methods from rapid additive manufacturing to manual fabrication.
• Surface modeling, crafting clean, continuous geometry suitable for high end production.
• Manufacturing knowledge, including an understanding of tooling, tolerances, and finishing options.

Practical notes

• This position requires relocation to the Austin, TX area if not currently local, with the specific work location based in Bastrop, Texas.
• Work schedule may include extended hours, weekends, and offsite travel as needed to meet project milestones or visit manufacturing facilities.
• SpaceX is an Equal Opportunity Employer.