Principal Software Engineer, CDN

SpaceX

Confirmed live today Low trust

Quick summary

Work type: On-site
Location: Palo Alto, CAHawthorne, CARedmond, WA
Salary: $210,000–$355,000 / yr
Posted: 158 days ago
Freshness: Confirmed live today
Nearby: 99+ roles within 25 mi

Market check

Salary context

Above market

How this pay compares to similar roles

Similar $180k

This role $282k

$117k $380k

below market most similar roles pay here above market

This role pays more than 93% of similar roles. Most pay $145,000–$215,000 — the blue band above. At the midpoint, this role pays about $282k versus about $180k 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 851 open roles on FindRole.

Listed pay typically runs $130,000–$165,000 across 590 roles with salary data.

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At a glance

TL;DR · Principal Software Engineer, CDN

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The Principal Software Engineer, CDN (Starlink) joins the CDN team to design, build, and scale a new Content Delivery Network for the Starlink satellite constellation. This role involves developing robust, responsive, and scalable distributed systems, including tools for real-time diagnosis, alerting, and maintenance of business-critical systems. The engineer will design algorithms to optimize hardware utilization and cost efficiency while implementing systems that shape traffic across multiple CDNs. Key technical requirements include proficiency in C, C++, or Rust, along with extensive experience in distributed systems and networking. Candidates should possess expertise in Edge Networking, DNS, Traffic Management, Caching, Load Balancing, SSL/TLS, and DDoS protection. The work focuses on solving complex networking problems to maximize the utility of the world’s largest satellite constellation for global users.

What does a Software Engineer earn in California?

Median $214500 from 1193 postings across 76 companies.

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Skills

C C++ Rust Distributed Systems CDN Networking DNS Traffic Management Caching Load Balancing SSL/TLS DDoS Protection Graph Theory Numerical Optimization Convex Optimization Monitoring

What you'll do

Design, build, and scale a new Content Delivery Network (CDN) for Starlink.
Build robust, responsive, and scalable distributed systems.
Create tools, visibility, and alerting mechanisms to diagnose and maintain business-critical systems in real-time.
Design algorithms to optimize hardware utilization and cost efficiency against performance metrics.
Implement systems that shape traffic across multiple CDNs.
Lead architecture, design, and code reviews.
Develop prototypes and manage experiments to prove out future design concepts.

What we're looking for

Bachelor’s degree in a STEM discipline and 10+ years of professional software development experience.
12+ years of software development experience in lieu of a degree.
Software development experience in C, C++, or Rust.
5+ years of professional distributed systems experience or experience designing, building, and scaling a CDN system.
7+ years of professional networking experience.
Advanced degree in computer science or engineering (preferred).
Professional experience with complex networking systems, Edge Networking, DNS, Traffic Management, Caching, Load Balancing, SSL/TLS, or DDoS protection (preferred).
Must be a U.S. citizen, national, lawful permanent resident, refugee, asylee, or eligible for required Department of State authorizations.

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