Senior AI Engineer, Special Programs

SpaceX

Confirmed live 2 days ago Low trust

Quick summary

Work type: On-site
Location: Palo Alto, CA
Salary: $220,000–$350,000 / yr
Posted: 113 days ago
Freshness: Confirmed live 2 days ago
Nearby: 99+ roles within 25 mi

Market check

Salary context

Above market

How this pay compares to similar roles

Similar $200k

This role $285k

$132k most similar roles pay here $373k

This role pays more than 93% of similar roles. Most pay $158,800–$241,750 — the shaded band above. At the midpoint, this role pays about $285k versus about $200k 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 · Senior AI Engineer, Special Programs

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Sr. AI Engineer, Special Programs - Top Secret Clearance joins a team dedicated to delivering mission-critical AI solutions for U.S. federal agencies. This role involves owning the strategy and execution of high-stakes projects by designing, building, and optimizing integrations between frontier models like the Grok family and government systems. The engineer will identify pain points, scope product specifications, benchmark models, develop evaluation frameworks, and perform system prompt tuning or fine-tuning to ensure reliability and safety. Key responsibilities include analyzing request logs, building internal tools for automation, and shipping production-grade code. Required skills include proficiency in Python and TypeScript, experience with the HTTP protocol, and knowledge of infrastructure-as-code tools like Pulumi or Terraform. The role focuses on solving complex technical challenges within regulated environments to ensure secure, scalable deployment for government use cases.

What does a AI Engineer earn in California?

Median $246150 from 84 postings across 12 companies.

See salary data

Skills

AI Machine Learning Python TypeScript API HTTP Terraform Pulumi infrastructure-as-code Fine-tuning SDKs Data Science Software Engineering Scalable Systems

What you'll do

Design, build, and optimize integrations between frontier AI models and government systems.
Define product specifications and develop AI-powered software for federal use cases.
Build evaluation frameworks to benchmark model performance and ensure compliance with standards.
Enhance model performance through system prompt tuning and fine-tuning for secure deployment.
Analyze request logs and system outputs to ensure reliability and auditability.
Develop internal tools to automate workflows and streamline tasks in secure environments.
Prototype solutions and iterate based on direct feedback from agency stakeholders.
Deliver production-grade code with a focus on speed, simplicity, and measurable impact.

What we're looking for

Bachelor's degree in computer science, mathematics, computer engineering, physics, or data science.
5+ years of hands-on software engineering experience building scalable systems, APIs, or AI/ML applications.
Active Top-Secret or Top-Secret SCI clearance.
Proficiency in Python and/or TypeScript.
Experience implementing AI products with back-end systems, front-end interfaces, and robust API design.
Deep understanding of machine learning fundamentals including model evaluation, training, and fine-tuning for production deployment.
Must be a U.S. citizen, national, lawful permanent resident, or eligible for required export control authorizations.
TOP SECRET CLEARANCE.

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