Principal Software Engineer (Application Software)

SpaceX•Hawthorne, CA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The application software team develops mission-critical applications used throughout SpaceX to accelerate launch vehicle production and flight, along with systems supporting the growth of Starlink into a worldwide internet service. The team is building and evolving systems for rapid Starship production and reuse, next-generation manufacturing software for high-throughput Starlink factories, data platforms for managing the satellite constellation, and customer-facing systems for joining the Starlink network. The engineer will work closely with teams across SpaceX to create and update software supporting crewed launches, Starship flights, and changes to the Starlink network. Aerospace experience is not required. The role offers ownership of challenging problems and requires collaborating with engineers to design and deliver software that advances SpaceX’s goals.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering, math, or a scientific discipline and 7+ years of professional experience building and scaling software; alternatively, 9+ years of professional software-building experience in lieu of a degree.
5+ years of experience in full-stack development.

Nice To Haves

Programming experience in Python, C#.NET, Go, Scala, Java, or a similar object-oriented language.
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.
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 new 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 develop efficient solutions.
Contribute to team collaborations on architecture, design, and code reviews.

Benefits

Potential eligibility for long-term incentives in the form of company stock 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.
May accrue three weeks of paid vacation.
Eligibility for 10 or more paid holidays per year.
Paid sick leave pursuant to company policy.