Senior Aviation Development Engineer, Networking

SpaceX

Confirmed live today High trust

Quick summary

Work type: On-site
Location: Woodinville, WABastrop, TX
Salary: $135,000–$220,000 / yr
Posted: 56 days ago
Freshness: Confirmed live today
Nearby: 99+ roles within 25 mi

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Salary context

Competitive pay

How this pay compares to similar roles

Similar $168k

This role $178k

$119k $231k

below market most similar roles pay here above market

This role pays more than 63% of similar roles. Most pay $137,500–$197,500 — the blue band above. At the midpoint, this role pays about $178k versus about $168k 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 851 open roles on FindRole.

Listed pay typically runs $130,000–$165,000 across 590 roles with salary data.

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At a glance

TL;DR · Senior Aviation Development Engineer, Networking

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The Sr. Aviation Development Engineer, Networking (Starlink) joins the team responsible for transforming the airline passenger experience by integrating Starlink technology into aircraft. This role involves driving requirements for next-generation passenger cabin environments, designing hardware-in-the-loop lab representations, and translating flight data into scalable architecture decisions. You will own technical engagements to define milestones, technology trades, and compliance for multi-gigabit environments. Key responsibilities include configuring cabin routers and access points, managing IP networking protocols like IPv4/IPv6, and specifying Wi-Fi 6/6E or Wi-Fi 7 standards. You will utilize tools for authentication, including WPA3-Enterprise and Passpoint, while ensuring regulatory compliance with the FAA. The work focuses on solving complex technical challenges regarding network performance, frequency reuse, and seamless connectivity for global airline partners.

Skills

Wi-Fi 6 Wi-Fi 7 IPv4 IPv6 TCP UDP QUIC DNS DHCP NAT VLAN QoS RADIUS AAA WPA2 WPA3-Enterprise Passpoint Hotspot 2.0 802.11u EAP-TTLS EAP-TLS EAP-AKA Hardware-in-the-Loop RF Link Budget Packet Capture Microsoft Word Wireless Data Communications

What you'll do

Own the cabin connectivity architecture for assigned airline programs, including access-point placement, band planning, and frequency reuse.
Specify and drive requirements for next-generation passenger-cabin Wi-Fi standards and multi-AP coordination.
Design, stand up, and operate hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) lab environments to prove architecture before fleet rollout.
Configure and validate cabin routers and access points for SSID, VLAN, QoS, and authentication protocols.
Define and verify passenger authentication, hotspot security, and network isolation for crew and operations.
Design end-to-end IP networking and protocols, including IPv4/IPv6, routing, DHCP, and NAT for satellite backhaul.
Translate lab and flight measurements into technical requirements, test plans, and design changes for partners.
Coordinate with regulatory bodies and manufacturers to ensure compliance with aerospace licenses and type approvals.

What we're looking for

Bachelor’s degree in a STEM discipline.
5+ years of experience in an engineering function or a technical program/product management role focused on bringing products to market.
Must be a U.S. citizen, national, lawful permanent resident, refugee, or asylee eligible for Department of State authorization.
Demonstrated ability to navigate complex technical programs with aerospace manufacturers from ideation to roll-out (preferred).
Experience in software architecture, electrical interfaces, wireless data communications, mechanical structures, or thermal analysis (preferred).
Wi-Fi systems design experience including IEEE 802.11 PHY/MAC, RF link budget, and frequency reuse (preferred).
Hands-on IP networking and router/AP configuration in production or HITL labs (preferred).
Experience designing, building, or operating hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) or RF/system integration labs (preferred).

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