Sr. Software Engineer (Vehicle Engineering)

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 of enabling human life on Mars.

SR. SOFTWARE ENGINEER (VEHICLE ENGINEERING)

Be a member of the Artificial Intelligence Software Engineering team focusing on solving complex AI data problems for our launch vehicles and spacecrafts.

Our team is creating AI systems to accelerate software development and test, avionics design, flight data review, logistics and mission operations. Your work will directly support the world's largest satellite communication and AI constellations, accelerate rapid reuse of the Falcon launch vehicle, and contribute to the development of the world's largest rocket capable of sending humans to Mars.

The role will consist developing core AI technologies to accelerate engineering. You will be responsible for training internal engineering models on SpaceX data.  This will consist of training models from scratch, fine tuning models, and using Reinforcement Learning (RL) to post train LLMs. You will also employ other Machine Learning (ML) techniques to intelligently extract knowledge hidden from SpaceX data. You will also be responsible for working with a diverse set of AI technologies including building Agentic engineering tools, including engineering RAG based tool, and engineering MCP servers.  The AI tools and models will used to help engineers rapidly design and test space hardware including electronics and propulsion systems. The team will work closely with engineers throughout the company to create new AI systems to unlock engineering bottlenecks and transform how engineering data is accessed and used at SpaceX.

Aerospace experience is not required to be successful here - rather we look for smart, motivated, collaborative engineers who love solving problems and want to make an impact on an inspiring mission. You will have full ownership of challenging problems and work with a team of enthusiastic engineers to design and produce AI solutions that enable SpaceX to move towards our goals at a rapid pace.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Design and train highly reliable, scalable AI/ML models that empower engineers across all SpaceX departments
• Design agentic AI systems and multi-agent workflows to perform engineering tasks
• Build and optimize large-scale machine learning training pipelines to create next-generation AI applications that transform day-to-day engineering operations
• Develop and fine-tune foundation models (LLMs, vision models, multimodal systems) for high-impact SpaceX use cases
• Create production-grade AI tools for data analysis, anomaly detection, predictive modeling, and automated decision-making
• Collaborate with peers on AI architecture, model design, training strategies, and code reviews
• Rapidly build and iterate on AI prototypes, rigorously quantifying model performance, accuracy, and technical constraints
• Own the complete AI model lifecycle - from data preparation and training infrastructure to deployment, monitoring, and continuous improvement
• Deep-dive into complex engineering problems to identify and implement efficient, custom-trained AI solutions
• Establish rigorous AI standards for model validation, safety, reliability, bias mitigation, and data security
• Ensure all AI systems undergo thorough testing and validation to deliver accurate, trustworthy, and production-ready outputs

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, data science, engineering, math, or physics; OR 4+ years of professional experience building and training AI/ML systems in lieu of a degree
• 5+ years of experience in AI software engineering with a focus on model training, fine-tuning, and machine learning systems (professional and personal projects are applicable)
• 5+ years of programming experience in Python

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Strong hands-on experience in AI software engineering with a focus on model training, fine-tuning, and machine learning systems
• Expert understanding of LLM transformer architectures and training procedure including pre-training, supervised fine tuning, and reinforcement learning.
• Demonstrated experience training and fine-tuning large language models (LLMs) and other foundation models at scale
• Proven track record training and optimizing machine learning models for computer vision (object detection, segmentation, 3D reconstruction, etc.)
• Deep expertise with modern ML frameworks: PyTorch, TensorFlow, JAX, or equivalent
• Experience designing and running large-scale ML training pipelines, including distributed training on GPU clusters, hyperparameter optimization, and experiment tracking
• Strong understanding of MLOps best practices: model versioning, experiment management (MLflow, Weights & Biases, etc.), CI/CD for ML, and automated retraining
• Strong foundation in statistics, machine learning theory, deep learning architectures, optimization algorithms, and model evaluation
• Proficiency developing on Linux systems
• Solid understanding of version control (Git), testing, continuous integration, deployment, and monitoring for ML systems
• Experience building complex   agentic AI systems and multi-agent workflows
• Experience with data infrastructure for training: relational databases (PostgreSQL), non-relational databases, data lakes, and feature stores (vector databases are a plus)
• Experience deploying containerized applications using Docker and Kubernetes

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Willing to work extended hours and weekends as needed

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:     

Pay Range:    

Software Engineer/Senior: $160,000.00 - $225,000.00/per year    

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, stock options, 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 SpaceX’s Affirmative Action Plan for veterans and individuals with disabilities, or applicants requiring reasonable accommodation to the application/interview process should reach out to  [email protected].