Application Software Engineer, Applied AI

SpaceX

Confirmed live yesterday Trusted

Quick summary

Work type: On-site
Location: Hawthorne, CA
Salary: $125,000–$160,000 / yr
Posted: 43 days ago
Freshness: Confirmed live yesterday
Nearby: 99+ roles within 25 mi

Market check

Salary context

Below market

How this pay compares to similar roles

Similar $185k

This role $142k

$113k most similar roles pay here $237k

This role pays less than 80% of similar roles. Most pay $149,500–$220,237 — the shaded band above. At the midpoint, this role pays about $142k versus about $185k 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 680 open roles on FindRole.

Listed pay typically runs $130,000–$165,000 across 442 roles with salary data.

Most-posted roles

View all roles at SpaceX

At a glance

TL;DR · Application Software Engineer, Applied AI

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As an Application Software Engineer, Applied AI, you will join the Application Software team to design, evaluate, deploy, and integrate modern AI systems that power mission-critical products and infrastructure. You will own the end-to-end lifecycle of AI capabilities from prototype to production, specifically focusing on large language models and agentic systems to accelerate launch vehicle production, flight operations, and Starlink services. Your daily work involves architecting production systems for multi-agent orchestration, tool-use, advanced retrieval, and long-context applications while building rigorous evaluation frameworks and monitoring for safety and latency. You will utilize a technical stack including Python, C#.NET, Go, Scala, or Java, alongside Docker, Kubernetes, Kafka, and front-end frameworks like Angular or React. The role solves complex problems in aerospace production and satellite communications by integrating advanced AI techniques into reliable, high-stakes systems.

Skills

Large Language Models Agentic Systems Python C# Go Scala Java Docker Kubernetes Kafka Angular React PostgreSQL SQL Server Full Stack Development Fine-tuning A/B Testing

What you'll do

Develop reliable software solutions using large language models and agentic systems to improve production and flight operations.
Manage the full lifecycle of AI systems from initial prototype through deployment, monitoring, and iteration.
Architect production systems for multi-agent orchestration, tool-use, advanced retrieval, and long-context applications.
Build and maintain rigorous evaluation frameworks including LLM-as-judge, automated benchmarks, and production observability.
Identify high-leverage AI opportunities by analyzing user problems to deliver production-grade solutions.
Integrate emerging AI best practices and techniques into existing infrastructure across various SpaceX programs.

What we're looking for

Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, math, or a scientific discipline, or 2+ years of professional software experience.
At least 1 year of experience in full stack development.
Experience evaluating, deploying, and integrating AI models into production systems.
Expertise in modern LLM techniques including agentic systems, tool-use, multi-agent orchestration, and advanced retrieval.
Experience building production evaluation frameworks and monitoring for AI quality, safety, latency, and cost.
Proficiency in programming languages such as Python, C#.NET, Go, Scala, or Java.
Experience with Docker, Kubernetes, and modern data streaming like Kafka.
Must be a U.S. citizen, national, lawful permanent resident, or eligible for required export control authorizations.

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