Software Engineer, Satellite Operations (Starshield)

SpaceX is a company focused on enabling human life on Mars through advanced technologies. They are seeking a Software Engineer for their Starshield Satellite Operations team to develop reliable software systems for satellite operations, including telemetry, fault detection, and ground service DevOps.

What you'll do:

• Own the complete lifecycle of the software and systems you create, including development, testing, deployment, and operational support
• Develop highly reliable and available software systems for the tasking and monitoring of satellites in low-earth orbit
• Design and implement performant and safe satellite flight software
• Build automated ground-based software systems that integrate smart data processing with satellite control
• Act as a a cross-disciplinary expert, collaborating with other engineers to diagnose on-orbit faults and come up with suitable permanent resolutions ensuring we meet mission objectives
• Lead on-orbit satellite operations through all phases of flight and perform on-call rotations, satellite commanding, or data review to keep our vehicles, payloads, and networks continuously operating

What they're looking for:

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, aerospace engineering, physics or another engineering discipline
• Development experience in C, C++, Python, or other similar programming languages
• Able to work extended hours and weekends as needed to support critical path development and/or critical on-orbit operations
• An active clearance may provide the opportunity for you to work on sensitive SpaceX missions; if so, you will be subject to pre-employment drug and random drug and alcohol test
• 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
• Production experience with containerization technologies (e.g. Docker, Kubernetes)
• Experience developing and deploying HTTP servers to build scalable dynamic web operations, tooling, and real-time monitoring applications
• Experience working with relational databases (PostgreSQL, CockroachDB, or similar)
• Knowledge of computer architecture, networks, and inter-process communications (RESTful APIs, gRPC, etc.)
• Understanding of version control, testing, continuous integration, build, deployment, and monitoring
• Experience with debugging, performance optimization, and unit testing
• General familiarity with the disciplines necessary for spacecraft flight including: structures, propulsion, avionics, GNC, flight software, dynamics, launch and mission operations, and integration

Benefits:

• Those with an active clearance will receive a 10% differential, up to an additional $20,000 annually, once officially briefed into a classified program.
• Long-term incentives, in the form of company stock, stock options, or long-term cash awards
• Potential discretionary bonuses
• The ability to purchase additional stock at a discount through an Employee Stock Purchase Plan
• 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
• Various other discounts and perks