Principal Software Engineer, Platform Team

SpaceX

Confirmed live yesterday Low trust

Quick summary

Work type: On-site
Location: Bastrop, TX
Posted: 114 days ago
Freshness: Confirmed live yesterday
Nearby: 99+ roles within 25 mi

Market check

Salary context

How this pay compares to similar roles

Similar $197k

$124k most similar roles pay here $284k

This listing doesn't post a salary. Most similar roles pay $172,987–$220,800.

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 · Principal Software Engineer, Platform Team

Role Posting Log in to save

Principal Software Engineer (Platform Team) joins the Platform Team to build foundational tooling and security infrastructure that enables the organization to harness AI effectively. This role involves architecting secure, scalable gateways and proxy systems, onboarding frontier models, expanding compute capacity, and optimizing proxy efficiency for logging and control. The engineer will lead high-impact initiatives including risk-mitigation tools like intelligent code review and automated PR assistants while establishing standards for AI-first workflows. Key technical requirements include expertise in Docker, Kubernetes, zero-trust security models, multi-cloud integrations, and MLOps. The candidate must possess mastery of Python and experience with infrastructure-as-code and advanced observability. This role focuses on the critical problem of creating trustworthy, reliable AI capabilities to accelerate production and development by converting engineering knowledge into automated systems and managed compute at scale.

What does a Software Engineer earn in Texas?

Median $186925 from 189 postings across 40 companies.

See salary data

Skills

AI MLOps Python Docker Kubernetes infrastructure-as-code Zero-Trust Security Observability Proxy Systems Model Lifecycle Management

What you'll do

Define and drive the long-term technical vision and architecture for SpaceX’s AI platform and security infrastructure.
Lead high-impact initiatives with full ownership over strategy, design, implementation, and company-wide rollout.
Oversee the onboarding of frontier models and the scaling of massive compute capacity.
Optimize proxy systems to improve security, efficiency, logging, and control for AI tools.
Develop advanced risk-mitigation capabilities such as intelligent code reviews and automated PR assistants.
Establish standards and best practices for lean, secure, and effective applied AI across the organization.
Convert engineering knowledge into production software, trained models, and automated systems at scale.

What we're looking for

Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, or a related field and 7+ years of experience building production platforms.
9+ years of professional experience building and scaling production platforms in lieu of a degree.
Experience designing and operating large-scale AI/ML platforms, internal developer platforms, or mission-critical infrastructure.
Expertise in Docker/Kubernetes ecosystems, zero-trust security models, and multi-cloud or frontier-model integrations.
Deep expertise in MLOps, distributed compute, model lifecycle management, and building highly observable systems.
Mastery of Python and broad expertise across modern languages and tooling.
Experience with infrastructure-as-code and advanced observability tools.
Must be a U.S. citizen, national, lawful permanent resident, or eligible for required export control authorizations.

Save