Sr. Application Software Engineer

About the role

SpaceX’s application software team is the central nervous system of the company. We create mission-critical applications 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. The team is currently building and evolving systems to enable rapid build and reuse of Starship and designing next-generation manufacturing software for high-throughput Starlink factories. Other applications range from platforms that support concurrent data streams from always-on assets to manage the world’s largest satellite constellation, to public-facing systems where customers can join the Starlink network globally.

You will work closely with engineers across the company to update systems for crewed launches, Starship flights, Starlink network changes, and more. Aerospace experience is not required—we look for smart, motivated, respectful, collaborative engineers who love solving problems and want to make an impact on an inspiring mission. You will have full ownership of challenging problems, collaborating with a diverse team to design and produce solutions that help SpaceX move toward its goals at a rapid pace.

Responsibilities

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

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering, math, or scientific discipline and 5+ years of professional software development experience; OR 7+ years of professional software development experience in lieu of a degree
• 3+ years of professional experience in full stack development
• You may be asked to work extended hours or weekends dependent on launch cadence
• To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. lawful permanent resident (green card holder), Refugee under 8 U.S.C.1157, Asylee under 8 U.S.C.1158, or eligible to obtain required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Programming experience in Python, C#.NET, Go, Scala, Java, or similar object-oriented language
• 1+ 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 with build systems (Make, Bazel/Pants/Buck, Gradle) and package management tools (pip, npm)
• Experience with UNIX-like operating systems and tools like Terraform, Ansible, Puppet
• Experience working with in-stream data processing using Apache Kafka, RabbitMQ, ActiveMQ, or similar technologies
• Production experience with Docker and Kubernetes
• Front-end experience in Angular, React, or similar JavaScript framework
• Database experience with PostgreSQL, SQL Server, or similar database technologies

Pay

Sr. Software Engineer pay range: $165,000 – $230,000 per year. Your actual level and base salary will be determined based on job-related knowledge, skills, education, and experience.

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage
• 401(k) retirement plan
• Short- and long-term disability insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid parental leave
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan with stock discount
• Long-term incentives in the form of company stock, stock options, or long-term cash awards
• Potential discretionary bonuses
• 3 weeks of paid vacation
• 10 or more paid holidays per year
• Paid sick leave pursuant to company policy
• Various discounts and perks