Maintenance Engineering Manager (Power Plant)

MAINTENANCE MANAGER (POWER PLANT)

SpaceX is seeking a Power Plant Maintenance Manager to own the maintenance, equipment reliability, and long-term asset performance of power generation infrastructure supporting the Starbase supercomputer. This position will lead maintenance execution across gas turbines, generators, rotating equipment, mechanical and electrical balance-of-plant systems, and associated industrial utilities.

The ideal candidate is an experienced power plant engineer who understands how equipment fails, how to prevent repeat failures, and how to execute maintenance without compromising plant availability. You will build and lead a maintenance organization, develop preventive and predictive maintenance strategies, coordinate major outages, and work directly with technicians, engineers, and equipment manufacturers to maximize equipment reliability. This is a hands-on leadership role requiring technical depth, strong planning, and the ability to solve problems in the field.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Lead and develop the power plant maintenance organization, including mechanical, electrical, instrumentation, and controls maintenance personnel
• Own preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance programs for gas turbines, generators, pumps, motors, compressors, valves, cooling systems, and associated balance-of-plant equipment
• Develop and execute maintenance plans and inspection schedules based on OEM recommendations, equipment condition, operating history, and reliability requirements
• Plan and manage major turbine maintenance activities, including combustion inspections, hot gas path inspections, overhauls, and associated plant outages
• Direct root cause investigations for recurring equipment failures, turbine trips, vibration issues, lubrication failures, and other mechanical or electrical problems
• Implement condition-monitoring and predictive maintenance tools including vibration analysis, thermography, oil analysis, and equipment performance trending
• Establish and maintain a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS), including equipment histories, preventive maintenance schedules, work orders, and maintenance backlog tracking
• Develop spare parts strategies, critical inventory requirements, maintenance budgets, and vendor support agreements
• Work directly with turbine OEMs, equipment suppliers, and contractors to resolve technical issues, coordinate repairs, and maintain equipment reliability
• Coordinate maintenance work with plant operations to minimize downtime, ensure safe equipment isolation, and support timely return to service
• Support installation, commissioning, maintenance readiness, and turnover of new power generation assets
• Establish maintenance performance metrics, including planned maintenance compliance, equipment availability, repeat failure rates, and mean time to repair
• Ensure maintenance execution complies with applicable safety requirements, including lockout/tagout, electrical safety, hot work, confined-space entry, and equipment isolation procedure

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related engineering discipline
• 5+ years of hands-on experience in power plant maintenance, rotating equipment reliability, or maintenance engineering at a power generation facility
• Experience planning and executing maintenance on gas turbines, generators, or associated industrial plant equipment
• Experience leading maintenance personnel, contractors, or multidisciplinary technical work

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Direct maintenance experience with gas turbines, generators, steam turbines, and mechanical/electrical balance-of-plant systems
• Experience with GE, Siemens Energy, Mitsubishi Power, or comparable turbine OEM equipment
• Strong knowledge of rotating equipment, bearings, seals, lubrication systems, alignment, vibration analysis, and equipment failure modes
• Experience planning and executing turbine inspections, hot gas path maintenance, major overhauls, and forced outage repairs
• Proficiency with CMMS platforms, maintenance scheduling, equipment asset management, and critical spare parts inventory
• Experience implementing preventive, predictive, and reliability-centered maintenance programs
• Demonstrated ability to lead root cause failure analysis and implement permanent corrective actions
• Familiarity with long-term service agreements, warranty administration, maintenance contracts, and OEM technical support
• Experience working with industrial electrical systems, motors, generators, switchgear, PLCs, and instrumentation
• Ability to interpret P&IDs, mechanical drawings, electrical schematics, and equipment maintenance manuals
• Experience supporting new plant construction, commissioning, and equipment turnover into maintenance programs
• Knowledge of industrial maintenance safety requirements, including OSHA practices, NFPA 70E, and lockout/tagout
• Demonstrated improvements in equipment availability, maintenance cost, outage duration, or recurring failure rates

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Must be able to work onsite at Starbase, TX
• Must be available to support critical equipment failures, outages, and maintenance events outside standard business hours
• Must be willing to work extended hours and weekends during major maintenance activities
• Ability to work in industrial environments, including outdoors, around rotating machinery, and in confined spaces or elevated locations when necessary
• Ability to wear required personal protective equipment and safely access equipment for inspections and troubleshooting
• Willingness to travel to OEM facilities or other project sites as needed

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.