Sr. Software Engineer, Computer Vision

SpaceX•Hawthorne, CA

6h•Onsite

About The Position

SpaceX is seeking exceptional, driven, adaptable, and resilient senior software engineers who are technical leaders and experts in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and computer vision. This role on the NDE & Materials Software team involves accelerating the quality, speed, and efficiency of manufacturing processes at SpaceX by owning end-to-end solutions, from model development to production deployment and monitoring. The team is focused on building the next generation of in-process monitoring tools for Starship, Raptor, and Starlink programs, delivering high-impact solutions through advanced AI models and scalable simulation with a focus on non-destructive evaluation (NDE) and materials engineering applications. As a technical leader, the engineer will guide the team in applying cutting-edge AI to these manufacturing challenges.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, math, physics, or related STEM discipline; OR 8+ years of professional experience building and deploying AI software/Machine Learning in lieu of a degree
5+ years of software development experience
3+ years deploying AI models to production environments
3+ years of software engineering experience
3+ years of experience leveraging Python for data analysis

Nice To Haves

Proven track record as a technical leader in software projects involving AI/ML
Hands-on experience deploying computer vision models for real-time manufacturing inspection and defect detection
Strong development experience in Python and C++ (or similar), with expertise in ML frameworks like PyTorch or JAX
Hands-on experience with computer vision libraries (e.g., OpenCV)
Experience fine tuning and adapting state-of-the-art models, such as transformers and vision transformers, to production environments
Experience fine-tuning LLMs or vision-language models and building agentic tools
Experience deploying applications at scale with Docker, Kubernetes, and cloud/edge inference for factory automation
Expertise in machine learning/LLM operations including model versioning, A/B testing, drift detection, and orchestration with Kubeflow, Ray, MLFlow, or similar
Stream processing with Apache Kafka, RabbitMQ, or equivalent
Database expertise in PostgreSQL or similar and data tools (Prometheus, Grafana, Jupyter)
Strong linux experience
Experience applying AI to physics or simulation domains, using physics-informed neural networks (PINNs) or surrogate modeling

Responsibilities

Lead computer vision model development and deployment for real-time inspection and automated defect recognition in production-scale manufacturing
Architect and implement pipelines for scalable model training, evaluation, deployment, monitoring, and retraining using industry-standard tools like Ray Train/Serve, Kubeflow, Airflow, or equivalent
Develop software to integrate hardware, sensors, and tooling (including sensor fusion) with AI-driven process monitoring systems
Build and optimize data pipelines from production lines, incorporating real-time stream processing and inference
Collaborate with part/process engineers, NDE engineers, and materials scientists to link advanced models and outputs to manufacturing
Lead design and code reviews, technology evaluations, and enforce best practices (e.g., style, CI/CD, accuracy, testability, efficiency, and standards)

Benefits

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
3 weeks of paid vacation
10 or more paid holidays per year
paid sick leave