Software Engineer, Tracking

SpaceX

Confirmed live 2 days ago High trust

Quick summary

Work type: On-site
Location: Hawthorne, CA
Salary: $125,000–$160,000 / yr
Posted: 11 days ago
Freshness: Confirmed live 2 days ago
Nearby: 99+ roles within 25 mi

Market check

Salary context

Below market

How this pay compares to similar roles

Similar $176k

This role $142k

$114k most similar roles pay here $225k

This role pays less than 68% of similar roles. Most pay $137,500–$214,000 — the shaded band above. At the midpoint, this role pays about $142k versus about $176k 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.

Most-posted roles

View all roles at SpaceX

At a glance

TL;DR · Software Engineer, Tracking

Role Posting Log in to save

Software Engineer, Tracking (Starshield) joins the GNC organization to develop mission-critical systems ensuring low-earth orbit safety. This role involves building payload management and orbital prediction tools for large spacecraft constellations while developing analysis pipelines to verify system performance. The engineer manages the full software lifecycle, from determining requirements and prototyping to testing and rollout. Key responsibilities include constructing scenarios to analyze performance and creating prototypes to quantify technical constraints. Candidates should possess a bachelor's degree in an engineering or science field and have experience with C++ or Python. Preferred skills include knowledge of distributed systems, containerization tools like Docker and Kubernetes, version control, CI/CD pipelines, and relational databases such as PostgreSQL or CockroachDB. The role focuses on the technical challenges of earth observation, communications, and hosted payloads within a government-focused satellite infrastructure.

What does a Software Engineer earn in California?

Median $214000 from 775 postings across 63 companies.

See salary data

Skills

C++ Python Distributed Systems Docker Kubernetes PostgreSQL CockroachDB Version Control Data Science Spacecraft Systems Analysis Pipelines

What you'll do

Build software tools and construct scenarios to analyze system performance.
Develop prototypes to prove key design concepts and quantify technical constraints.
Create mission-critical systems for payload management and orbital prediction.
Develop analysis pipelines to verify the functionality of spacecraft fleet systems.
Manage the full software lifecycle including requirements, prototyping, development, testing, and rollout.
Support critical on-orbit operations and high-priority development tasks as needed.

What we're looking for

Bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering, computer science, data science, or another engineering discipline.
Experience in software development using C++ or Python.
Ability to obtain and maintain an active Top Secret, Top Secret SCI, or DOE Level Q clearance.
Must be a U.S. citizen, national, lawful permanent resident, or eligible for required export control authorizations.
Experience with distributed systems or large-scale consumer internet systems.
Proficiency with containerization technologies such as Docker and Kubernetes.
Understanding of version control, testing, continuous integration, build, deployment, and monitoring.
Experience with relational databases like PostgreSQL or CockroachDB.

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