Application Software Engineer, Flight Software

SpaceX • Hawthorne, CA

13h • Onsite

About The Position

The application software team develops mission-critical applications used across SpaceX to accelerate launch vehicle production and flight, along with systems that support Starlink's worldwide internet service. The team is building and evolving systems for Starship production and reuse, developing manufacturing software for high-throughput Starlink factories, and creating platforms for managing data from assets and supporting Starlink customers. Engineers collaborate with teams throughout the company on software related to crewed launches, Starship flights, and changes to the Starlink network. The role offers ownership of challenging problems and involvement in designing and producing software solutions that advance SpaceX's mission. Aerospace experience is not required.

This position is onsite; remote and hybrid work are not considered. Extended hours or weekends may be requested depending on launch cadence. The listed pay ranges are $125,000–$160,000 for Level 1 and $145,000–$195,000 for Level 2. Actual level and base salary depend on job-related knowledge and skills, education, and experience. Compensation may also include long-term incentives, potential discretionary bonuses, and the opportunity to purchase company stock at a discount.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, mathematics, or a scientific discipline, or at least 2 years of professional software-building experience in lieu of a degree.
• At least 1 year of experience in full-stack development.
• Must meet U.S. export-control eligibility requirements: be a U.S. citizen or national, lawful permanent resident, refugee, or asylee, or be eligible to obtain required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.
• Must work onsite; remote and hybrid work are not considered.

Nice To Haves

• Programming experience in Python, C#.NET, Go, Scala, Java, or a similar object-oriented language.
• At least 1 year 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 such as Make, Bazel, Pants, Buck, or Gradle, and package management tools such as pip or npm.
• Experience with UNIX-like operating systems and tools such as Terraform, Ansible, or Puppet for managing them.
• Experience with in-stream data processing using Apache Kafka, RabbitMQ, ActiveMQ, or similar technologies.
• Production experience with Docker and Kubernetes.
• Front-end experience with Angular, React, or a similar JavaScript framework.
• Database experience with PostgreSQL, SQL Server, or similar technologies.

Responsibilities

• Develop highly reliable software solutions used across SpaceX.
• Create applications that improve how SpaceX operates.
• Build prototypes to validate design concepts and quantify technical constraints.
• Own all aspects of software engineering and product development.
• Investigate users' problems and create efficient solutions.
• Participate in team collaboration on architecture, design, and code reviews.

Benefits

• Potential long-term incentives in the form of company stock or long-term cash awards.
• Potential discretionary bonuses.
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan with the ability to purchase additional stock at a discount.
• Comprehensive medical coverage.
• Vision coverage.
• Dental coverage.
• 401(k) retirement plan.
• Short- and long-term disability insurance.
• Life insurance.
• Paid parental leave.
• Various other discounts and perks.
• May accrue 3 weeks of paid vacation.
• Eligible for 10 or more paid holidays per year.
• Paid sick leave pursuant to company policy.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level