Elon Musk's aerospace company SpaceX announced a new recruitment drive for a trader who will build and lead a natural-gas trading team. The role, listed on the company's career portal, focuses on both physical and financial natural-gas trading and will be based at either Cape Canaveral, Florida, or the Starbase site in Texas.
Why the move matters
SpaceX plans to construct its own gas-fired power plants to supply electricity to a massive semiconductor manufacturing facility it is developing in Texas with Tesla Inc.. The plant, intended to produce chips for the company's own data-centre and vehicle needs, will rely heavily on natural gas for both power generation and the production of methane, the primary component of the fuel used by the Starship rocket.
Company president and chief operating officer Gwynne Shotwell told CNBC that SpaceX also intends to build its own gas pipelines and even explore drilling for natural gas. She described these projects as "huge investments to develop our own propellant and bring it to the rocket."
"huge investments to develop our own propellant and bring it to the rocket.", Gwynne Shotwell
By handling the procurement and trading of natural gas in-house, SpaceX hopes to reduce reliance on external suppliers, control costs and ensure a stable fuel supply for both its power-generation assets and launch operations.
What happens next
The newly created trading team will be tasked with securing physical gas deliveries, managing price risk and negotiating contracts that align with the company's broader vertical-integration strategy. Remote work will not be considered, underscoring the need for on-site coordination with the power-plant and manufacturing sites.
Industry observers note that other technology firms, such as Meta and OpenAI, are also expanding into energy trading to meet growing data-centre demands. SpaceX's move signals a similar shift within the aerospace sector, where control over energy inputs is becoming a strategic priority.
SpaceX has not yet responded to requests for comment on the recruitment drive.