Mission Integration Engineer, Applied Computing (Starshield)

SpaceX • Hawthorne, CA

18d • $95,000 - $130,000

About The Position

SpaceX was founded under the belief that a future where humanity is out exploring the stars is fundamentally more exciting than one where we are not. Today SpaceX is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal of enabling human life on Mars. MISSION INTEGRATION ENGINEER (STARSHIELD) Special Programs leverages technology and launch capability to support national security efforts. Starshield, within Special Programs, is designed for government use, with an initial focus on earth observation, communications, and hosted payloads. The data applications team is building highly reliable mission-critical AI solutions supporting Starshield use-cases. You will drive the development and enhancement of core applications while collaborating cross-functionally to deliver end-to-end products. Aerospace experience is not required to be successful here—we want our engineers to bring fresh ideas from all areas. We look for engineers who love solving problems and seek to make an impact on an inspiring mission. As we expand this team, we’re looking for versatile, motivated, and collaborative engineers. Our team is responsible for identifying pain points, scoping product specifications, and designing and building LLM-powered software for government or enterprise use cases. This role will enhance model performance through system prompt tuning or fine-tuning, with an eye toward secure and scalable deployment.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, data science, physics, mathematics, or a STEM discipline
• Full stack software development experience - frontend Javascript libraries such as React, Angular, and Redux
• Professional experience developing Python applications
• Active Top Secret, Top Secret SCI, or DOE Level Q clearance
• Must be willing to work extended hours and weekends as needed
• 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.

Nice To Haves

• Professional experience developing web services and distributed applications across cloud and on-premise networks
• Professional experience developing within Linux server environments, SSH, scripting, and configuration
• Experience with Kubernetes or similar container orchestration frameworks
• Experience with Model Context Protocol or large model content interaction systems
• Experience with developing RAG pipelines, tool callers, and AI orchestration systems
• Experience with Vector databases or implementing highly performant databases
• Experience with image data processing and machine learning
• Experience with graphics-intensive web application development

Responsibilities

• Develop full-stack solutions to manage scalable AI content interaction systems with user applications
• Develop prototypes to prove key design concepts and quantify technical constraints
• Apply creativity to build an immersive earth observation experience for users whether they are in offices or in the field
• See your software through from start-to-finish: from figuring out the core needs to prototyping, developing, and testing; to production rollout and beyond

Benefits

• You may also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the form of company stock, stock options, 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 & long-term disability insurance, life insurance, paid parental leave, and various other discounts and perks.
• You may also accrue 3 weeks of paid vacation & 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.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees