Software Engineer, Design Software (Starship)
Company websitespacex.com (SpaceX, opens in new tab)
Base salary $125K to $175K
Employer-published annual base salary, USD. Advertised base range in Hawthorne, CA
You apply on the employer's own site. Six Figure Work does not handle applications.
- LocationHawthorne, CA
- WorkplaceWorkplace not stated
- Status at last checkSource accepting applications when checked
- Last checked (32 min ago) · observed since
About this job
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.
SOFTWARE ENGINEER, DESIGN SOFTWARE (STARSHIP)
Starship is SpaceX’s next generation launch platform that will take humans to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. It is designed to be cost-effective, mass manufacturable, and rapidly reusable. As a Software Engineer on the Design Software team, you will be responsible for building and maintaining software used by our engineers to aid in the creation, analysis, and distribution of design data. This includes mesh processing, 3D graphics rendering, flight simulations, and wearables (iPad/iPhone/etc.) applications. This is a high-autonomy role that will require building close relationships with engineering and technical staff to understand issues, and coming up with software solutions interfacing with external APIs or hardware. We are looking for people who like to own a problem from start to finish in a high-responsibility and low-micromanagement environment!
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Develop highly reliable software solutions that are used across SpaceX
- Create new applications that improve how SpaceX operates
- Build prototypes to prove out key design concepts and quantify technical constraints
- Own all aspects of software engineering and product development
- Deep dive into your users’ problems to find and create efficient solutions
- Bring your voice to the table in team collaborations on architecture, design, and code reviews
- Integrate electronics design software to manufacturing equipment
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:
- Bachelor's 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:
- Programming experience in Python, C#.NET, Go, Scala, Java, or similar object-oriented language
- 1+ years of rigorous experience building single page web applications
- Experience with version control, continuous integration, and continuous delivery concepts
- Expertise in designing software systems
- Deep understanding of testing, continuous integration, build, deployment & monitoring
- Expertise in profiling and improving application performance
- Experience with build systems (Make, Bazel/Pants/Buck, Gradle) and package management tools (pip, npm)
- Experience working with in-stream data processing using Apache Kafka, RabbitMQ, ActiveMQ, or similar technologies
- Production experience with Docker and Kubernetes
- Front-end experience in Angular, React, or similar JavaScript framework
- Database experience with PostgreSQL, SQL Server, or similar database technologies
- Graph experience with Neo4j or similar technologies
- 3D Graphics experience with three.js, OpenGL, Vulkan, Unreal Engine, or other similar frameworks
- Experience integrating third-party CAD Software (NX, Altium, Xpedition, etc.)
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
- Must be willing to work extended hours/weekends as needed dependent on launch cadence
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:
Pay range:
Software Engineering/Level I: $125,000.00 - $145,000.00/per year
Software Engineering/Level II: $145,000.00 - $175,000.00/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 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].
Source: SpaceX on Greenhouse · View original posting (opens in new tab)
Pay in context
This role's base floor ($125,000) is above 12% of the 325 Design roles in California listed on this site; 1 other lists the same floor. Their median floor is $167,000; the middle half runs from $141,000 to $194,000.
Only jobs on this site count, and each one publishes a base salary of $100,000 or more, so this compares six-figure jobs with each other, not with the whole market. Computed Nov 6, 2026.
This listingSoftware Engineer, Design Software (Starship)$125K to $175K
Software Engineer, Test Engineering and Operations$125K to $175K
Software Engineer, Supercomputer Network (Starlink)$125K to $200K
Application Software Engineer, Flight Software$125K to $195K
Software Engineer, Components Test (Starshield)$125K to $175K
Site Reliability Engineer, AI Infrastructure (Starshield)$125K to $195K
Software Engineer, Linux Kernel (Starlink)$125K to $200K
Chart as a table
| Role | Published base |
|---|---|
| Software Engineer, Design Software (Starship) (this listing) | $125K - $175K |
| Software Engineer, Test Engineering and Operations | $125K - $175K |
| Software Engineer, Supercomputer Network (Starlink) | $125K - $200K |
| Application Software Engineer, Flight Software | $125K - $195K |
| Software Engineer, Components Test (Starshield) | $125K - $175K |
| Site Reliability Engineer, AI Infrastructure (Starshield) | $125K - $195K |
| Software Engineer, Linux Kernel (Starlink) | $125K - $200K |
Observed changes
- Began meeting the published-salary criteria
- First observed on the employer's board
- Observed since
- Employer-stated posting date
- 2026-03-18
Where this pay comes from
Location as the employer wrote it: Hawthorne, CA (Levels 1-2 combined)
Software Engineering/Level I: $125,000.00 - $145,000.00/per year Software Engineering/Level II: $145,000.00 - $175,000.00/per year
- Method
- Employer text, read with fixed rules and re-verified
- Checked
- Rule set
- us-base-v2
The pay passage appears in the employer's own job text. Fixed, deterministic rules located it, and the passage below was checked against the stored copy of the posting.
What we verified
- The pay figures come from the employer's own listing, quoted exactly above.
- The pay is an annual base salary in US dollars with a minimum of at least $100,000.
- The role was publicly listed on the employer's job board when last checked.
We do not verify what the employer will actually offer, whether the employer is still recruiting for the role, or anything beyond what the employer published. Full methodology.
