Principal AI Engineer, Special Programs

SpaceX•Palo Alto, CA

6d•$220,000 - $350,000•Onsite

About The Position

This team focuses on engineering and deploying AI capabilities (models, APIs, tools, and integrations) for U.S. federal agencies. You'll work closely with product, research, infrastructure, and legal/governance teams to make AI and future models maximally useful for missions while upholding safety, transparency, and ethical standards.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in computer science or another STEM discipline; OR 2+ years of professional experience in software development in lieu of a degree
6+ years of hands-on software engineering experience building scalable systems, APIs, or AI/ML applications (strong Python proficiency, other languages a plus)
Must be willing to work extended hours and weekends as needed
20% travel may be required to government sites
This position requires successfully obtaining and maintaining a Top Secret Security Clearance as a condition of employment. While the clearance may not be immediately necessary upon hire, we encourage you to initiate the application process promptly upon accepting this offer. Your ability to secure the necessary clearance is essential for fulfilling key responsibilities of the role. Should you be unable to obtain it, SpaceX reserves the right to modify or terminate your employment to align with operational needs.
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

Experience working with large language models, generative AI, or agentic systems—either in research, production, or applied engineering
Familiarity with government or public sector technology environments (federal civilian agencies, state/local gov, or regulated industries like healthcare, finance, or infrastructure)
Strong product sensibility: ability to translate ambiguous stakeholder needs into concrete technical solutions
Demonstrated ability to write clean, maintainable, high-performance code under tight timelines
Exceptional problem-solving skills and intellectual curiosity—you thrive on hard, ambiguous challenges
Excellent communication skills; you can explain complex technical concepts to non-technical partners clearly and concisely
Prior work on AI safety, governance, red-teaming, or responsible AI deployment
Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure), containerization (Docker/Kubernetes), or API orchestration
Background in policy-adjacent technical roles, civic tech, or public-interest technology
Contributions to open-source AI projects or developer tools

Responsibilities

Design, build, and optimize integrations between AI frontier models (e.g., Grok family) and government systems, platforms, and data environments
Collaborate on custom SDKs, APIs, developer tools, and documentation tailored for government and enterprise developers
Partner with agency stakeholders to understand requirements, prototype solutions, and iterate rapidly based on real-world feedback
Ship production-grade code and features with a bias toward speed, simplicity, and measurable impact

Benefits

long-term incentives, in the form of company stock, stock options, or long-term cash awards
potential discretionary bonuses
ability to purchase additional stock at a discount through an Employee Stock Purchase Plan
comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage
access to a 401(k) retirement plan
short and long-term disability insurance
life insurance
paid parental leave
various other discounts and perks
3 weeks of paid vacation
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.