AI Engineer, Special Programs

SpaceX

Confirmed live today High trust

Quick summary

Work type: On-site
Location: Palo Alto, CAWashington, DC
Salary: $135,000–$230,000 / yr
Posted: 136 days ago
Freshness: Confirmed live today
Nearby: 99+ roles within 25 mi

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Salary context

Competitive pay

How this pay compares to similar roles

Similar $189k

This role $182k

$116k most similar roles pay here $243k

This role pays more than 55% of similar roles. Most pay $147,200–$230,266 — the shaded band above. At the midpoint, this role pays about $182k versus about $189k for comparable roles.

Based on 240 similar postings.

Employer

About SpaceX

SpaceX designs, manufactures, and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft with the mission of enabling humans to become a multi-planetary species. It operates the Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, and Starship launch vehicles, as well as the Starlink satellite internet constellation.

SpaceX currently has 793 open roles on FindRole.

Listed pay typically runs $130,000–$165,000 across 557 roles with salary data.

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At a glance

TL;DR · AI Engineer, Special Programs

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AI Engineer, Special Programs joins a team focused on engineering and deploying AI capabilities, including models, APIs, tools, and integrations for U.S. federal agencies. In this role, you will design, build, and optimize integrations between AI frontier models like the Grok family and government systems while collaborating on custom SDKs, developer tools, and documentation. You will partner with agency stakeholders to prototype solutions and ship production-grade code characterized by speed and simplicity. The role requires proficiency in Python, experience with large language models, generative AI, or agentic systems, and familiarity with cloud platforms like AWS, GCP, or Azure, along with containerization tools like Docker and Kubernetes. You will solve complex technical challenges within the domain of government technology environments to ensure AI deployment meets strict safety, transparency, and ethical standards for public sector missions.

What does a AI Engineer earn in California?

Median $246150 from 90 postings across 11 companies.

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Skills

Python Large Language Models Generative AI Agentic Systems API Docker Kubernetes AWS GCP Azure SDKs open-source AI Safety Red-teaming Cloud Platforms

What you'll do

Design, build, and optimize integrations between frontier AI models and government systems.
Develop custom SDKs, APIs, developer tools, and documentation for government and enterprise users.
Prototype solutions and iterate rapidly based on feedback from agency stakeholders.
Write production-grade code with a focus on speed, simplicity, and measurable impact.
Translate ambiguous stakeholder requirements into concrete technical solutions.
Ensure AI deployments uphold safety, transparency, and ethical standards.
Maintain a Top Secret Security Clearance to fulfill operational requirements.

What we're looking for

Bachelor's degree in computer science or another STEM discipline, or 2+ years of professional software development experience.
Ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret Security Clearance.
Must be a U.S. citizen, national, lawful permanent resident, or eligible for required export control authorizations.
1+ years of hands-on software engineering experience building scalable systems, APIs, or AI/ML applications (preferred).
Experience with large language models, generative AI, or agentic systems (preferred).
Familiarity with government technology environments, cloud platforms, containerization, or API orchestration (preferred).
Strong product sensibility and ability to communicate complex technical concepts to non-technical partners (preferred).
Background in AI safety, governance, red-teaming, or policy-adjacent technical roles (preferred).