Software Engineer, Flight Software

SpaceX

Confirmed live yesterday Trusted

Quick summary

Work type
On-site
Location
Redmond, WA
Salary
$125,000–$165,000 / yr
Posted
16 days ago
Freshness
Confirmed live yesterday

Market check

Salary context

Competitive pay

How this pay compares to similar roles

Similar $164k
This role $145k
$117k most similar roles pay here $201k

This role pays more than 51% of similar roles. Most pay $136,125–$192,500 — the shaded band above. At the midpoint, this role pays about $145k versus about $164k 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.

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At a glance

TL;DR · Software Engineer, Flight Software

As a Software Engineer, Flight Software (Starlink), you will join the flight software team to design, develop, and test software for both robotic vehicles in space and the ground systems that orchestrate a large satellite constellation. You will manage the complete software lifecycle, including development, testing, release, and operation during continuous missions. Your daily work involves building highly reliable autonomous systems, creating comprehensive test suites for fault tolerance, and developing prototypes to analyze system metrics and quantify technical constraints. The role requires proficiency in C/C++, Python, or similar programming languages, along with knowledge of computer architecture, networks, physics, math, and electronics. You will also utilize Linux programming skills to solve complex problems regarding real-time, distributed systems while ensuring the reliability of critical flight and ground infrastructure for space operations.

What does a Software Engineer earn in Washington?

Median $202800 from 326 postings across 28 companies.

See salary data

What you'll do

  • Design and develop highly reliable autonomous software systems for space vehicles and ground support systems.
  • Create comprehensive testing suites to ensure software resilience, fault tolerance, and correctness.
  • Build prototypes and analyze system metrics to validate design concepts and quantify technical constraints.
  • Manage the full software lifecycle including design, testing, release, and active flight operations.
  • Develop software for both orbital vehicles and ground systems that orchestrate satellite constellations.
  • Provide technical leadership and focus on continuous improvement of flight systems.

What we're looking for

  • Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, math, or STEM discipline, or 2+ years of experience in software development.
  • Development experience in C/C++, Python, or other similar programming languages.
  • Experience designing fault tolerant, distributed, or real-time systems (preferred).
  • Cross-context test design skills ranging from unit tests to hardware-in-the-loop regression and exploratory tests (preferred).
  • Thorough knowledge of computer architecture and networks (preferred).
  • Knowledge of physics, math, and electronics (preferred).
  • Familiarity with Linux programming (preferred).
  • Must be a U.S. citizen, national, lawful permanent resident, or eligible for required export control authorizations.

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