Principal Software Engineer (Platform Team)
$200,000–$285,000 year
On-site · Palo Alto, California, United States or Sunnyvale, California, United States
Job Summary
Principal Software Engineer for SpaceX's AI platform. Define the long-term technical vision and architecture for SpaceX’s AI platform and security infrastructure; lead high-impact initiatives with ownership over strategy, design, implementation, and company-wide rollout; oversee onboarding of frontier models, massive compute scaling, and optimization of proxy systems for security and efficiency; drive company-wide adoption of AI-first workflows; build scalable, secure automation and data stores; invent risk-mitigation capabilities (AI code review, automated PR tools, safety systems); establish best practices and technical direction; and collaborate with leadership to align platform capabilities with SpaceX’s ambitious goals.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in computer science, computer engineering, or other engineering discipline
- 7+ years of professional experience building and scaling production platforms; OR 9+ years in lieu of a degree
- Experience designing and operating large-scale AI/ML platforms, internal developer platforms, or mission-critical infrastructure
- Demonstrated success architecting and scaling AI gateways, secure proxy layers, or enterprise MLOps platforms
- Expert-level experience with Docker/Kubernetes ecosystems, zero-trust security models, and multi-cloud/frontier-model integrations
- Deep expertise in MLOps, distributed compute, model lifecycle management, and building highly observable, reliable systems
- Strong history of enabling organization-wide impact through technical leadership, mentoring, and creation of shared platforms and standards
- Entrepreneurial leadership with a proven ability to spot and deliver transformative solutions
- Mastery of Python and broad expertise across modern languages and tooling
- Extensive experience with infrastructure-as-code, advanced observability, and building platforms that others love to use
- Deep passion for responsible AI, developer velocity, and converting deep engineering knowledge into reliable automation at planetary scale
Additional Requirements
- ITAR compliance: applicant must be a U.S. citizen or national, or be eligible to obtain necessary authorizations from the U.S. Department of State
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