Sr. Software Engineer (Flight Reliability)

About the role

The Flight Reliability software team creates mission critical applications that are used throughout SpaceX to accelerate launch vehicle production and flight as well as systems that allow Starlink to grow into a worldwide fast, reliable Internet service. We are looking for engineers to help SpaceX maintain its incredible launch record.

Our team is currently creating and evolving systems to manage engineering changes and mitigate risks affecting SpaceX's fleet of vehicles, from Falcon and Starship to Starlink and Dragon. We are expanding application features to enable SpaceX engineers to continually improve our vehicles while maintaining reliability. We are also building Agentic AI systems to further streamline operations.

Aerospace experience is not required to be successful here - rather we look for smart, motivated, respectful, collaborative engineers who love solving problems and want to make an impact on a super inspiring mission. You will have full ownership of challenging problems, working with a team of enthusiastic engineers with diverse perspectives to design and produce solutions that enable SpaceX to move towards our goals at a rapid pace. The success of the missions at SpaceX depends on the software that you and your team produce.

Responsibilities

• Develop highly reliable software solutions that are used across SpaceX
• Create new applications that improve how SpaceX operates
• Build prototypes to prove out key design concepts and quantify technical constraints
• Own all aspects of software engineering and product development
• Deep dive into your users' problems to find and create efficient solutions
• Bring your voice to the table in team collaborations on architecture, design, and code reviews

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, math, or scientific discipline and 4+ years of professional experience building OR 6+ years of professional experience in software development in lieu of a degree
• 5+ years of experience in full stack development

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Programming experience in Python, C#.NET, Go, Scala, Java, or similar object-oriented language
• 5+ years of rigorous experience building single page web applications
• Experience with version control, continuous integration, and continuous delivery concepts
• Expertise in designing software systems
• Deep understanding of testing, continuous integration, build, deployment, and monitoring
• Expertise in profiling and improving application performance
• Experience designing and deploying agentic AI systems, including LLM prompting, context retrieval, evaluation, and monitoring
• Production experience with Docker
• Front-end experience in Angular, React, or similar JavaScript framework
• Database experience with PostgreSQL, SQL Server, or similar database technologies

Additional Requirements

• You may be asked to work extended hours/weekends dependent on launch cadence
• This role requires you to be onsite. Remote and/or hybrid work will not be considered

Pay range

Sr. Software Engineer: $160,000.00 - $225,000.00/per year

Your actual level and base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills, education, and experience.

Base salary is just one part of your total rewards package at SpaceX. You may also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the form of company stock or long-term cash awards, as well as potential discretionary bonuses and the ability to purchase additional stock at a discount through an Employee Stock Purchase Plan.

You will also receive access to comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, short and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, paid parental leave, and various other discounts and perks. You may also accrue 3 weeks of paid vacation and will be eligible for 10 or more paid holidays per year.

Employees accrue paid sick leave pursuant to Company policy which satisfies or exceeds the accrual, carryover, and use requirements of the law.

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.