Technical Satellite Policy Analyst
SpaceX · Washington, DC · Mid Level · Software engineering · posted yesterday
SpaceX · Palo Alto, CA · posted yesterday
By AtiveSite · Published 07/11/2026 · Updated 08/11/2026 · Every figure is linked to its source below.
| Employer | SpaceX |
|---|---|
| Location | Palo Alto, California |
| Field | Technology › Data, analytics and AI |
| Level | Senior Level |
| Source category | Data and Analytics |
| Posted | 2026-11-07 (yesterday) |
| Work arrangement | On-site at the location listed |
| Pay | Not published in the source listing |
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.
PRINCIPAL AI ENGINEER, SPECIAL PROGRAMS
This team focuses on engineering and deploying AI capabilities (models, APIs, tools, and integrations) for U.S. federal agencies. You'll work closely with product, research, infrastructure, and legal/governance teams to make AI and future models maximally useful for missions while upholding safety, transparency, and ethical standards.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:
PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:
Pay range:
Principal AI Engineer: $220,000.00 - $350,000.00/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:
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 EEOCompliance@spacex.com.
Field: Technology Sub-niche: Data, analytics and AI All jobs at SpaceX Jobs in California Jobs in Palo Alto, CA Palo Alto city guide California state guide Santa Clara County economy
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This is a Senior Level role in the Technology field (Data, analytics and AI) at SpaceX. Senior roles usually expect substantial experience, ownership of results and often the ability to guide others.
We could not match this job title to one occupation in the official wage statistics, so no pay estimate is shown. Pay is not in the source listing; ask the employer for the range and compare in the 240 job niches.
Estimate for a wage earner: 2026 federal brackets and standard deduction (IRS), Social Security 6.2% up to $184,500, Medicare 1.45% (+0.9% above $200,000 single / $250,000 married), and a state rate you set; set your own state tax rate. It ignores credits, pre-tax deductions, local taxes and benefits. Sources: IRS: tax year 2026 inflation adjustments · SSA wage base per Federal Register notice 2025-19763.
This is editorial guidance, not information from the employer.
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The job is in Palo Alto, CA. Below is what the official statistics say about living and working there.
How Palo Alto compares. Among the 145 largest places in California, Palo Alto is #122 by population, #4 for college degrees (#1 = most), #139 for rent (#1 = cheapest), #7 for household income (#1 = highest). Its county, Santa Clara County, is #1 of 58 counties for average pay ($197,043).
Palo Alto has 67,237 residents (ACS 2020–2024), about 0.2% of the population of California. It covers 24 square miles of land, which works out to roughly 2,796 people per square mile. The median age is 43.6, 15% older than the state median (43.6 against 37.9).
The median gross rent is $3,484 a month (rent plus utilities), 71% above the state median ($3,484 against $2,036). Over a year that is 18.1% of the median household income. US housing guidance treats housing as affordable when it takes 30% of income or less, so the typical household is under that line. The median home value is above $2 million (the ACS reports $2,000,001 as its highest value, so the true median is higher), which is at least 8.7 times the median household income ($231,101); a ratio above 5 usually means buying is out of reach without savings or a second income. 54.6% of households own their home, about the same as the state average (54.6% against 55.9%).
The San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metropolitan area has 1,134,970 jobs in the BLS wage survey, and the median pay across all occupations is $84,050 a year, 65% above the national median ($84,050 against $50,980). The biggest occupation groups are computer and mathematical (149,970 jobs, median $186,320); management (115,110 jobs, median $210,750); business and financial operations (94,210 jobs, median $125,240). The area is most specialised in computer and mathematical (3.9 times) and architecture and engineering (2.5 times), where the share of workers is well above the national share. The best-paying groups with at least 5,000 jobs are management ($210,750) and legal ($195,190). In 2026M09 the unemployment rate of Santa Clara County was 4.2%. 62.3% of residents aged 16 and over are in the labour force. The city lies in Santa Clara County; its jobs, pay by industry and GDP are on the county page.
Among workers, 44.2% drive alone, 2.0% use public transit, 4.6% walk, 35.4% work from home. 8.2% of workers commute 45 minutes or more, 58% below the state average (8.2% against 19.4%). Remote work is more common than in the state as a whole, which widens the set of employers a resident can work for without moving.
82.3% of adults aged 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher, 122% above the state share (82.3% against 37.1%). 37.0% of residents were born outside the United States, 37% above the state share (37.0% against 27.0%). The poverty rate is 6.0%, 50% below the state rate (6.0% against 12.0%).
The warmest month is Aug, averaging 68°F (19.8°C), and the coolest is Jan at 47°F (8.3°C). About 510 mm (20 inches) of precipitation falls in a year; Dec is the wettest month (114 mm) and Jul the driest (0 mm). These values come from NASA satellite-based climatology on a grid of about 50 km, so they describe the wider area, not a weather station in the city.
Closest cities in this guide: Los Altos Hills (2 miles, similar rent); Los Altos (3 miles, similar rent); Mountain View (4 miles, rent 12% lower); East Palo Alto (5 miles, rent 36% lower). Rent differences are against Palo Alto; use the Compare tab to put any two cities side by side.
Full guide to Palo Alto →California guideAll jobs in Palo Alto
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Places within 50 miles (straight line) of Palo Alto, CA that have a guide, with what living there costs. No pay estimate is shown because the title did not match one occupation.
| Place ⇅ | Distance from the job city ⇅ | Median rent ⇅ | Median home value ⇅ | Median household income ⇅ | Commute 45+ min ⇅ | Rent as % of occupation pay ⇅ | Open jobs there ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palo Alto, CA | 0 mi | $3,484 | $2,000,001 | $231,101 | 8.2% | n/a | Jobs |
| Los Altos Hills, CA | 2 mi | $3,501 | $2,000,001 | $250,001 | 18.0% | n/a | — |
| Los Altos, CA | 3 mi | $3,501 | $2,000,001 | $250,001 | 8.3% | n/a | — |
| Mountain View, CA | 4 mi | $3,062 | $1,927,000 | $189,917 | 9.3% | n/a | Jobs |
| East Palo Alto, CA | 5 mi | $2,244 | $1,102,600 | $113,493 | 9.7% | n/a | — |
| Atherton, CA | 5 mi | $3,501 | $2,000,001 | $250,001 | 7.0% | n/a | — |
| Menlo Park, CA | 6 mi | $3,239 | $2,000,001 | $210,025 | 11.5% | n/a | Jobs |
| Sunnyvale, CA | 6 mi | $3,039 | $1,801,800 | $186,170 | 9.0% | n/a | Jobs |
| Cupertino, CA | 8 mi | $3,501 | $2,000,001 | $234,707 | 9.1% | n/a | Jobs |
| Redwood City, CA | 9 mi | $2,968 | $1,801,700 | $157,814 | 10.2% | n/a | Jobs |
| Newark, CA | 10 mi | $2,776 | $1,142,800 | $169,064 | 22.2% | n/a | — |
| San Carlos, CA | 10 mi | $2,854 | $2,000,001 | $237,470 | 14.9% | n/a | — |
| Santa Clara, CA | 10 mi | $3,016 | $1,582,600 | $178,958 | 8.9% | n/a | — |
| Saratoga, CA | 11 mi | $3,501 | $2,000,001 | $250,001 | 8.3% | n/a | — |
| Belmont, CA | 12 mi | $2,875 | $2,000,001 | $205,297 | 18.6% | n/a | Jobs |
| Fremont, CA | 13 mi | $2,933 | $1,403,800 | $181,506 | 23.6% | n/a | Jobs |
| Foster City, CA | 13 mi | $3,501 | $1,838,200 | $199,143 | 20.6% | n/a | Jobs |
| Campbell, CA | 13 mi | $2,737 | $1,617,000 | $145,268 | 10.4% | n/a | Jobs |
| Milpitas, CA | 14 mi | $3,120 | $1,251,700 | $178,798 | 15.2% | n/a | Jobs |
| San Mateo, CA | 15 mi | $3,077 | $1,618,700 | $153,504 | 15.8% | n/a | — |
We could not match this title to one occupation, so here are the other sub-niches in Technology, where your skills may carry over:
Cybersecurity (366) Software engineering (1880) Cloud, IT and infrastructure (504) Product management (412)
How far Palo Alto, CA is from the 20 largest US cities, in straight-line miles (not driving distance). Click a column to sort.
| From ⇅ | Straight-line distance (miles) ⇅ | Population of that city ⇅ |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose, CA | 19 mi | 990,138 |
| San Francisco, CA | 54 mi | 830,235 |
| Los Angeles, CA | 313 mi | 3,857,263 |
| San Diego, CA | 425 mi | 1,389,526 |
| Phoenix, AZ | 624 mi | 1,642,323 |
| Seattle, WA | 706 mi | 754,195 |
| Denver, CO | 945 mi | 718,877 |
| Oklahoma City, OK | 1,372 mi | 697,125 |
| Fort Worth, TX | 1,433 mi | 963,194 |
| San Antonio, TX | 1,463 mi | 1,479,835 |
| Dallas, TX | 1,465 mi | 1,307,930 |
| Austin, TX | 1,478 mi | 979,539 |
| Houston, TX | 1,621 mi | 2,328,253 |
| Chicago, IL | 1,847 mi | 2,711,226 |
| Indianapolis, IN | 1,938 mi | 885,860 |
| Columbus, OH | 2,102 mi | 914,802 |
| Charlotte, NC | 2,287 mi | 903,844 |
| Jacksonville, FL | 2,355 mi | 977,670 |
| Philadelphia, PA | 2,512 mi | 1,579,706 |
| New York, NY | 2,565 mi | 8,483,844 |
| City ⇅ | Straight-line distance ⇅ | Open jobs ⇅ |
|---|---|---|
| Sunnyvale, CA | 6 mi | 12 |
| Redwood City, CA | 9 mi | 27 |
| Belmont, CA | 12 mi | 2 |
| Fremont, CA | 13 mi | 2 |
| Campbell, CA | 13 mi | 7 |
| Milpitas, CA | 14 mi | 2 |
| San Jose, CA | 19 mi | 661 |
| Pleasanton, CA | 24 mi | 1 |
| Alameda, CA | 25 mi | 15 |
| Capitola, CA | 31 mi | 1 |
| San Francisco, CA | 54 mi | 587 |
| Sacramento, CA | 89 mi | 38 |
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SpaceX · Palo Alto, CA · Senior Level · Data, analytics and AI · posted yesterday
All Data, analytics and AI jobs → · All Technology sub-niches →
A senior level role in technology (data, analytics and ai) listed yesterday. The full description is on this page and on The Muse.
Palo Alto, CA.
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The listing does not publish pay, and we could not match the title to one official occupation.
Median rent in Palo Alto is $3,484 a month and median household income $231,101 (ACS 2020–2024).
It was posted on 2026-11-07 (yesterday). Jobs older than 90 days are not shown.
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