below marketmost similar roles pay hereabove market
This role pays less than
82%
of similar roles. Most pay
$149,206–$209,225
— the blue band above.
At the midpoint, this role pays about
$142k
versus about
$179k
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
882 open roles
on FindRole.
Listed pay typically runs
$130,000–$165,000
across 598 roles with salary data.
Propulsion Software Engineer (Falcon Engineering) joins the Falcon Engineering team to improve hardware reliability and streamline engineering workflows for Falcon and Merlin engines. You will own problems end-to-end by building agentic AI systems, MCP servers, RAG-based search, and traditional automation to replace manual, repetitive tasks. Key responsibilities include developing data pipelines for telemetry and hardware design databases, building internal web dashboards, and supporting root cause analysis for anomaly resolution. You must possess hands-on hardware experience in engines, fluid systems, or structures alongside software skills in Python, C/C++, SQL, and Linux. The role requires expertise in tools like pandas, NumPy, SciPy, Docker, and Kubernetes to process large time-series datasets. You will solve technical problems involving liquid propellant engine cycles, thermodynamics, and flight-critical data integration.
Identify manual engineering tasks and scope software tools to automate repetitive work.
Build automation and data pipelines to process telemetry, hardware databases, and test records.
Develop agentic AI systems, multi-agent workflows, and MCP servers for engineering data analysis.
Create internal web dashboards to visualize mission status and data review results.
Test and validate all software tools to ensure reliability in flight-critical environments.
Support root cause analysis for anomalies by providing data-driven insights to hardware teams.
Lead architecture, design, and code reviews for internal software projects.
What we're looking for
Bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering, math, or physics; OR 4+ years of professional experience in hardware engineering or engineering automation in lieu of a degree.
1+ years of software development experience in Python, C/C++, or similar, with a focus on automation tools or AI integrations.
1+ years of hands-on experience with engines, fluid systems, or structural hardware in design, test, or operations.
Experience building agentic AI systems and multi-agent workflows, including prompt engineering, tool calling, and MCP servers (preferred).
Comfort analyzing large time-series telemetry and sensor datasets in Python using pandas, NumPy, and SciPy (preferred).
Strong SQL skills and experience with relational, non-relational, and vector databases, as well as integrating systems through REST APIs (preferred).
Proficiency developing on Linux with Git, automated testing, and CI/CD (preferred).
Applicant must be a U.S. citizen, national, lawful permanent resident, refugee, asylee, or eligible to obtain required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.
Python
C#/.NET
C++
Java
Angular
React
JavaScript
Unix
Data Pipelines
Numerical Analysis
Signal Processing
Physics-informed Neural Networks
Dynamical Systems Modeling
Monte Carlo Analysis
Full Stack Web Development
Python
C#/.NET
C++
Java
Angular
React
JavaScript
Data Pipelines
Version Control
Unix
Numerical Analysis
Signal Processing
Physics-informed Neural Networks
Dynamical Systems Modeling
Monte Carlo Analysis
Full Stack Web Development
Dynamical Systems Modeling
Physics-based Simulation
Data Pipelines
Full Stack Web Development
Database Design
Numerical Analysis
Signal Processing
Version Control
Unix-like Operating Systems
Physics-Informed Neural Networks
Monte Carlo Analysis
Control Feedback Loop Design
Thermodynamics
Thermochemistry
lumped parameter modeling
C++
Rust
Systems Programming
Real-time Embedded Systems
Distributed Computing
Firmware
Networking
Simulation
Software Engineering Best Practices
Controls
Electronics
Fluid Systems
Motor Design
Physical Mechanics