Application Software Engineer, Applied AI

SpaceX was founded under the belief that a future where humanity is out exploring the stars is fundamentally more exciting than one where we are not. Today SpaceX is actively developing the technologies to make this possible with the ultimate goal ofenabling human life on Mars.

APPLICATION SOFTWARE ENGINEER APPLIED AI

The application software team is the central nervous system of SpaceX we create mission critical applications that are used throughout SpaceX to accelerate launch vehicle production and flight as well as systems that allow Starlink to grow into a worldwide fast reliable Internet service. We are looking for engineers who treat fellow teammates with fairness respect and support.

In this Applied AI role within the Application Software team you will design evaluate deploy and integrate modern AI systemsincluding large language models and agentic systemsthat power products and infrastructure across SpaceX. You will own the end-to-end lifecycle of AI capabilities from prototype to production while partnering closely with Product Engineering and Operations teams. We are looking for a strong software engineer with a proven track record of delivering AI products including hands-on experience evaluating deploying and integrating AI solutions into real production systems.

Aerospace experience is not required rather we look for smart motivated respectful collaborative engineers who love solving problems and want to make an impact on a super inspiring mission. You will have full ownership of challenging problems working with a team of enthusiastic engineers with diverse perspectives to design and produce solutions that enable SpaceX to move towards our goals at a rapid pace. The success of the missions at SpaceX depends on the software that you and your team produce.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Develop highly reliable software solutions used across SpaceX including AI-powered applications that accelerate production flight and Starlink operations
• Create new applications that improve how SpaceX operates by incorporating modern large language models agentic systems and other AI capabilities
• Own the full lifecycle of Applied AI systems: design evaluation deployment monitoring and iteration from prototype to production
• Deep dive into users problems to uncover high-leverage AI opportunities and deliver efficient production-grade solutions
• Architect production systems for agentic workflows tool-use multi-agent orchestration advanced retrieval and long-context applications that prioritize reliability safety and responsible deployment
• Build and maintain rigorous evaluation frameworks (LLM-as-judge automated benchmarks online evaluation) and production observability/monitoring for AI quality safety latency and cost
• Stay at the frontier of LLM techniques and rapidly incorporate emerging best practices into production systems across SpaceX programs

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelors degree in computer science engineering math or scientific discipline; OR 2 years of professional experience building software in lieu of a degree
• 1 years of experience in full stack development

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Hands-on experience evaluating deploying and integrating AI models into production systems
• Proven track record of delivering (or significantly contributing to) end-to-end AI products or production AI-powered features
• Proven track record of shipping real-world AI products from prototype through production deployment and iteration
• Deep hands-on experience with modern LLM techniques: agentic systems tool-use / function calling multi-agent orchestration advanced retrieval architectures fine-tuning and structured outputs
• Experience building production evaluation systems (LLM-as-judge automated eval harnesses A/B testing red-teaming) and AI observability/monitoring (tracing quality metrics safety cost)
• Experience designing and implementing production architecture for AI-powered applications with strong emphasis on reliability safety and responsible deployment
• Previous experience in AI product design development integration testing and productionization
• Strong software engineering foundation with expertise in designing production systems (including AI-powered and system-to-system architectures) and a track record of writing clean maintainable code
• Programming experience in Python C#.NET Go Scala Java or similar
• Production experience with Docker Kubernetes and modern data streaming (Kafka or similar)
• Front-end experience (Angular React or similar) and database experience (PostgreSQL SQL Server or similar)
• Demonstrated ability to stay current with rapidly evolving AI technologies and best practices
• Ability to work under pressure and deliver results across multiple parallel priorities in a fast-paced high-reliability environment

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• You may be asked to work extended hours/weekends dependent on launch cadence
• This role requires you to be onsite. Remote and/or hybrid work will not be considered

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:

Pay Range:
Level 1: $125000.00 - $160000.00
Level 2: $145000.00 - $195000.00

Your actual level and base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills education and experience.

Base salary is just one part of your total rewards package at SpaceX. You may also be eligible for long-term incentives in the form of company stock or long-term cash awards as well as potential discretionary bonuses and the ability to purchase additional stock at a discount through an Employee Stock Purchase Plan. You will also receive access to comprehensive medical vision and dental coverage access to a 401(k) retirement plan short and long-term disability insurance life insurance paid parental leave and various other discounts and perks. You may also accrue 3 weeks of paid vacation and will be eligible for 10 or more paid holidays per year. Employees accrue paid sick leave pursuant to Company policy which satisfies or exceeds the accrual carryover and use requirements of the law.

ITAR REQUIREMENTS:

• To conform to U.S. Government export regulations applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national (ii) U.S. lawful permanent resident (aka green card holder) (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. 1157 or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. 1158 or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.

SpaceX is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with SpaceX is governed on the basis of merit competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race color religion gender national origin/ethnicity veteran status disability status age sexual orientation gender identity marital status mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

Applicants wishing to view a copy of SpaceXs Affirmative Action Plan for veterans and individuals with disabilities or applicants requiring reasonable accommodation to the application/interview process should reach out to.