Principal Software Engineer, CDN (Starlink)
About The Position
SpaceX is hiring a Principal Software Engineer for Starlink’s CDN team. The team will build scalable distributed systems that support future Starlink offerings as the service grows to reach users and customers around the world. The role focuses on designing, building, and scaling a new Content Delivery Network for Starlink, and on developing systems that help diagnose, operate, and maintain complex, business-critical services in real time. The engineer will also optimize hardware utilization and cost efficiency, shape traffic across multiple CDNs, and explore future design concepts and use cases through prototypes and experiments.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering, or another STEM discipline and 10+ years of professional software development experience; alternatively, 12+ years of software development experience in lieu of a degree.
- Software development experience in C, C++, or Rust.
- 5+ years of professional distributed systems experience, or experience designing, building, and scaling a CDN system.
- 7+ years of professional networking experience.
- Must be willing to work extended hours and weekends as needed.
Nice To Haves
- Advanced degree in computer science or engineering.
- Professional experience working on complex networking systems across layers 0–7.
- Experience with Edge Networking, DNS, Traffic Management, Caching, Load Balancing, SSL/TLS, DDoS protection, and/or monitoring.
- Knowledge of network topology, numerical optimization techniques, graph theory approaches, or convex optimization.
- Experience developing, debugging, and deploying scalable software used in real-world applications or projects.
- Creative problem-solving approach, exceptional analytical skills, and strong engineering fundamentals.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Ability to work effectively in a dynamic environment with changing needs and requirements.
Responsibilities
- Design, build, and scale a new Content Delivery Network (CDN) for Starlink.
- Build robust, responsive, and scalable distributed systems.
- Develop tools, visibility, and alerting mechanisms to diagnose, operate, and maintain complex, business-critical systems in real time.
- Design algorithms to understand and optimize hardware utilization and cost efficiency against business-critical performance metrics.
- Implement systems that shape traffic across multiple CDNs.
- Participate in and lead architecture, design, and code reviews.
- Develop prototypes and manage experiments to validate future design concepts and use cases for Starlink.
Benefits
- Potential eligibility for long-term incentives, including 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 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.
- 10 or more paid holidays per year.
- Exempt employees are eligible for 5 days of sick leave per year.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Principal
