Principal Software Engineer, CDN (Starlink)

SpaceX • Hawthorne, CA

4h • $255,000 - $340,000

About The Position

SpaceX is hiring a Principal Software Engineer for Starlink’s CDN team. The team will build scalable distributed systems supporting future Starlink offerings for users and customers worldwide. The role focuses on designing, building, and scaling a new Content Delivery Network, operating complex business-critical systems, optimizing hardware utilization and cost efficiency, and shaping traffic across multiple CDNs. The engineer will also lead technical reviews and develop prototypes and experiments to evaluate future design concepts and use cases.

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/or scaling a CDN system.
• 7+ years of professional networking experience.
• Willingness 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.
• Build 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 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 long-term incentives in the form of company stock, stock options, or long-term cash awards.
• Potential discretionary bonuses.
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan with the ability to purchase additional stock at a discount.
• Medical insurance.
• Vision insurance.
• Dental insurance.
• 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.
• 5 days of sick leave per year for exempt employees.

What This Job Offers

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