Principal AI Engineer, Special Programs

SpaceX

Confirmed live 3 days ago Trusted

Quick summary

Work type: On-site
Location: Palo Alto, CA
Salary: $220,000–$350,000 / yr
Posted: 106 days ago
Freshness: Confirmed live 3 days ago
Nearby: 99+ roles within 25 mi

Market check

Salary context

Above market

How this pay compares to similar roles

Similar $214k

This role $285k

$155k most similar roles pay here $371k

This role pays more than 85% of similar roles. Most pay $175,925–$252,875 — the shaded band above. At the midpoint, this role pays about $285k versus about $214k for comparable roles.

Based on 239 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 · Principal AI Engineer, Special Programs

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The Principal 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 with product, research, infrastructure, and legal teams to ensure safety and ethical standards. You will develop custom SDKs, APIs, and developer tools tailored for government use and work with stakeholders to prototype solutions based on real-world feedback. 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. You will solve technical challenges within the domain of federal civilian agencies and regulated industries while ensuring high-performance code is delivered under tight timelines.

What does a AI Engineer earn in California?

Median $246150 from 84 postings across 12 companies.

See salary data

Skills

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

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.
Translate ambiguous stakeholder requirements into concrete technical solutions and prototypes.
Ship production-grade code with a focus on speed, simplicity, and measurable impact.
Implement AI features while upholding safety, transparency, and ethical standards.
Manage the deployment of AI capabilities within regulated government data environments.

What we're looking for

Bachelor's degree in computer science or another STEM discipline, or 2+ years of professional software development experience.
6+ years of hands-on software engineering experience building scalable systems, APIs, or AI/ML applications.
Proficiency in Python and other programming languages.
Experience with large language models, generative AI, or agentic systems.
Familiarity with government technology environments or regulated industries like healthcare and finance.
Ability to write clean, maintainable, high-performance code under tight timelines.
Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure), containerization (Docker/Kubernetes), or API orchestration.
Must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret Security Clearance.
Must meet U.S. export control requirements as a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or eligible refugee/asylee.