Senior Software Engineer

SpaceX

Confirmed live yesterday Trusted

Quick summary

Work type
On-site
Location
Hawthorne, CA
Salary
$165,000–$265,000 / yr
Posted
37 days ago
Freshness
Confirmed live yesterday

Market check

Salary context

Above market

How this pay compares to similar roles

Similar $174k
This role $215k
$114k most similar roles pay here $281k

This role pays more than 85% of similar roles. Most pay $149,500–$197,500 — the shaded band above. At the midpoint, this role pays about $215k versus about $174k 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 Software Engineer

Sr. Software Engineer (Starshield) joins the Starshield software team to develop highly reliable in-space mesh networks and secure systems for government use, specifically focusing on earth observation, communications, and hosted payloads. The role involves managing the full software lifecycle, from prototyping and development to testing and on-orbit rollout. Responsibilities include creating software to control hundreds of satellites in low earth orbit, implementing networking technologies to direct data across ground stations and satellites, and building automated ground-based systems for command and control. Candidates will work with C++, Python, or similar languages to develop Linux-based software for various microcontrollers like ARM and x86. The role addresses the technical challenge of ensuring satellite constellation performance, security, and availability while integrating advanced capabilities such as inter-satellite lasers and space-based cloud compute within a complex orbital infrastructure.

What does a Software Engineer earn in California?

Median $214000 from 775 postings across 63 companies.

See salary data

What you'll do

  • Create highly reliable software systems to control hundreds of satellites in low earth orbit.
  • Manage the full software lifecycle including requirements gathering, prototyping, development, testing, and on-orbit rollout.
  • Write high-quality Linux-based C++ software for various processors and microcontrollers.
  • Implement networking technologies to route data across satellite constellations, ground stations, and users.
  • Build automated ground-based systems that integrate smart data processing with satellite command and control.
  • Develop models and simulations for flight-like vehicle testing and network performance analysis.
  • Create tools for test execution across virtualized hardware, real hardware-in-the-loop, and vehicle-in-the-loop environments.
  • Design continuous integration systems to enable frequent and reliable software deployment and data analysis.

What we're looking for

  • Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, math, or another STEM field.
  • 5 years of experience in software development with a bachelor's degree.
  • 7 years of professional experience in software development in lieu of a degree.
  • Experience developing in C/C++, Python, or other similar programming languages.
  • Ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret or Top Secret SCI security clearance.
  • Must be a U.S. citizen, national, lawful permanent resident, or eligible for export control authorizations.
  • Knowledge of computer architecture, networks, and networking protocols like TCP and UDP.
  • Experience with debugging, performance optimization, unit testing, and Linux kernel development.

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