Software Engineer, Linux Kernel (Starlink)

SpaceX•Palo Alto, CA

18h•$125,000 - $200,000

About The Position

As a member of SpaceX’s Platform Core team, the Software Engineer will develop and maintain the lowest layers of the software stack for AI supercomputers and Starlink’s laser mesh of satellites. The team’s software interfaces directly with supercomputer hardware and its network fabric, helping enable reliable, high-performance systems.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering, math, or a science discipline, or at least 2 years of professional software development experience in lieu of a degree; internship experience is applicable.
Hands-on system programming experience in C or C++.

Nice To Haves

Deep knowledge of the Linux kernel and its networking stack, or experience with another production-grade kernel.
Proficiency with debugging tools spanning kernel, network, and userspace, such as ftrace, perf, Wireshark/tcpdump, eBPF, and gdb.
Experience bringing up new hardware from scratch, such as flashing bare-metal software on a microcontroller with JTAG or bootstrapping a Linux kernel and root filesystem on new hardware.
A track record of developing and optimizing device or peripheral drivers, ideally for high-speed interfaces or with advanced considerations such as DMA and cache coherency.
Understanding of major peripheral hardware interface standards, including Ethernet, PCIe, I2C, and SPI, with the ability to review schematics and debug interfaces.
Experience with product security, OS or system hardening, and secure boot schemes.

Responsibilities

Build and maintain a lean, high-reliability Linux-based operating system for the supercomputer network fabric and Starlink laser mesh of satellites.
Write or rewrite high-performance device drivers to maximize the capabilities of network and compute hardware.
Manage deployment, operation, and debugging of the platform in production.
Investigate and resolve anomalies to improve system reliability.
Develop and continuously improve observability and configuration management tools.
Collaborate with hardware teams and external partners to design next-generation supercomputer hardware and bring up the operating system and software stack on it.

Benefits

Potential 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.
401(k) retirement plan.
Short- and long-term disability insurance.
Life insurance.
Paid parental leave.
Various other discounts and perks.
Potential accrual of 3 weeks of paid vacation.
10 or more paid holidays per year.
Washington State paid sick time in compliance with state and federal law.
Company shuttles for roundtrip travel from select Seattle locations to the SpaceX Redmond office, Monday to Friday.