Senior AI Engineer, Special Programs

SpaceX

Confirmed live yesterday Low trust

Quick summary

Work type: On-site
Location: Washington, DC
Salary: $220,000–$350,000 / yr
Posted: 113 days ago
Freshness: Confirmed live yesterday
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 works within a specialized team to own the strategy, execution, and deployment of mission-critical AI solutions for U.S. federal agencies. The role involves designing and optimizing integrations between frontier models like the Grok family and government systems while building internal tools to automate workflows in secure environments. Key responsibilities include benchmarking models, developing evaluation frameworks, performing system prompt tuning or fine-tuning, and analyzing request logs to ensure reliability. Candidates should possess a degree in a technical field and experience with Python, TypeScript, and infrastructure-as-code tools like Pulumi or Terraform. The position focuses on solving high-stakes problems by delivering production-grade code for government use cases that require strict adherence to safety, transparency, and ethical standards within highly regulated, secure data environments.

What does a AI Engineer earn?

Median $211200 from 132 postings across 36 companies.

See salary data

Skills

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

What you'll do

Design and optimize integrations between frontier AI models and government systems and data environments.
Define product specifications and build AI-powered software for specific government or enterprise use cases.
Develop evaluation frameworks to benchmark model performance and ensure compliance with customer standards.
Enhance model performance through system prompt tuning and fine-tuning for secure, scalable deployment.
Analyze request logs and system outputs to ensure reliability and auditability of AI responses.
Build internal tools to automate repetitive tasks and streamline workflows in secure environments.
Prototype solutions and iterate rapidly based on direct feedback from agency stakeholders.
Ship 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 machine learning products with back-end systems, front-end interfaces, and production-ready deployments.
Expertise in designing and maintaining secure, scalable AI solutions for government or high-stakes environments.
Must be a U.S. citizen, national, lawful permanent resident, or eligible for required export control authorizations.
TOP SECRET CLEARANCE.

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