below marketmost similar roles pay hereabove market
This role pays more than
74%
of similar roles. Most pay
$145,000–$217,500
— the blue band above.
At the midpoint, this role pays about
$215k
versus about
$181k
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
796 open roles
on FindRole.
Listed pay typically runs
$130,000–$165,000
across 555 roles with salary data.
The Sr. Software Engineer, AI Infrastructure (Starshield) joins the team responsible for the world’s largest US government satellite constellation. This role focuses on designing, operating, and scaling infrastructure to support critical national security missions. You will manage GPU and CPU infrastructure deployments in Top Secret data centers, provide GPU as a service on bare metal and virtualized platforms, and productize solutions for AI clusters at a 100k+ GPU scale. Key responsibilities include developing automation for on-premise Kubernetes and AI clusters, managing databases, and monitoring distributed storage. Required technical skills include Linux, Kubernetes, Terraform, Ansible, and scripting in Bash or Python. You will also utilize C++, Go, and NVIDIA GPU deployment stacks to solve complex problems regarding high availability and performance bottlenecks within a secure satellite communications environment.
What does a Software Engineer earn in District Of Columbia?
Median $209500 from 43 postings across 9 companies.
Manage GPU and CPU infrastructure deployments to Top Secret data centers.
Provide GPU as a service for external customers on bare metal and virtualized platforms.
Design, validate, and productize solutions for AI clusters at a 100k+ GPU scale.
Develop automation to deploy and manage on-premise Kubernetes, AI clusters, and operating systems.
Deploy and manage core infrastructure including databases, monitoring, and distributed storage.
Monitor and alert systems to ensure high availability for critical national security missions.
Lead the team toward technical excellence by making key architectural and engineering decisions.
What we're looking for
Bachelor’s degree in computer science, IT, or engineering and 5+ years of Linux experience, or 7+ years of software/DevOps/SRE experience without a degree.
5+ years of experience with Kubernetes.
5+ years of experience managing Linux operating systems.
Experience with Terraform, Ansible, or other infrastructure tools.
Experience with containerization technologies like OCI containers and Kubernetes.
Experience scripting in Bash, Python, or similar languages.
Development experience in Python, C++, or Go.
Must be a U.S. citizen, national, lawful permanent resident, refugee, or asylee to meet ITAR requirements.
Must be able to successfully obtain and maintain a Top Secret Security Clearance.
Active Top Secret, Top Secret SCI, or DOE Level Q clearance (preferred).
5+ years of experience with Python and Python-based development frameworks (preferred).
Experience managing Kubernetes clusters rather than just using them (preferred).
Knowledge of Linux boot process, systems configuration, and networking (TCP/IP) (preferred).
Experience with NVIDIA GPU deployment stacks (Blackwell/Rubin) (preferred).