Embedded Software Engineer, Laser Mesh Routing (Starlink)

SpaceX • Bellevue, WA

1d

About The Position

As a member of the Platform Core team, the Embedded Software Engineer will work on the lowest layers of software for devices supporting SpaceX’s supercomputer network fabric and Starlink laser mesh of satellites. The role involves building and maintaining a lean, high-reliability Linux-based operating system, developing high-performance device drivers, and supporting deployment and operation of the platform in production. The engineer will collaborate with hardware teams and external partners to design next-generation supercomputer hardware and bring up the operating system and software stack on it.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering, math, or a science discipline; or at least 2 years of professional software-development experience in lieu of a degree. Internship experience is applicable.
• Hands-on system programming experience in C or C++.

Nice To Haves

• Deep knowledge of the Linux kernel and its networking stack, or experience with another production-grade kernel.
• Proficiency with debugging tools spanning kernel, network, and userspace, such as ftrace, perf, Wireshark/tcpdump, eBPF, and gdb.
• Experience bringing up new hardware from scratch, such as flashing bare-metal software on a microcontroller with JTAG or bootstrapping a Linux kernel and root filesystem on new hardware.
• A demonstrated track record of developing and optimizing device or peripheral drivers, ideally for high-speed interfaces or with advanced considerations such as DMA and cache coherency.
• Understanding of major peripheral hardware interface standards, including Ethernet, PCIe, I2C, and SPI; ability to review schematics and debug these interfaces if needed.
• Experience with product security, operating-system or system hardening, and secure boot schemes.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain the Linux-based operating system underpinning the supercomputer network fabric and Starlink laser mesh of satellites.
• Write or rewrite high-performance device drivers to maximize the capabilities of network and compute hardware.
• Manage platform deployment, operation, and production debugging.
• Investigate and resolve anomalies, identify root causes, and improve system reliability.
• Develop and continually improve observability and configuration-management tools.
• Collaborate with hardware teams and external partners to design next-generation supercomputer hardware and bring up the operating system and software stack on it.

Benefits

• Potential long-term incentives in the form of company stock or long-term cash awards.
• Potential discretionary bonuses.
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan allowing employees 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.
• Up to 3 weeks of accrued paid vacation.
• 10 or more paid holidays per year.
• Washington State employees accrue paid sick time in compliance with state and federal law.
• Company shuttles for roundtrip travel from select Seattle locations to the SpaceX Redmond office, Monday to Friday.

What This Job Offers

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