Sr. Software Engineer (Platform Team)

The job

LIVE Employer public job feed (private-sector employer) Source: the employer's public careers feed · Data: listed 2026-05-20

Job description

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 (PLATFORM TEAM) 

The Platform Team builds the foundational tooling and security infrastructure that empowers every team at SpaceX to harness AI effectively. This team creates secure, scalable gateways and proxy systems that allow engineers and operators across the company to write code faster, perform advanced data analysis, connect AI to their daily tools and problems, and turn ideas into deployed solutions with confidence. By onboarding new frontier models, expanding compute capacity, optimizing proxy efficiency for logging and control, and building shared prompts, skills, and infrastructure, this team unlocks reliable, high-impact AI capabilities across the entire organization. 

As a Sr. Software Engineer for SpaceX's AI platform, you will be a key technical leader and entrepreneurial builder focused on the leanest and most effective applied use of AI at SpaceX. You will design and scale platforms that convert engineering know-how into tested software, automation, and reliable data stores at company scale while creating risk-mitigation tools such as intelligent code review and PR assistants. Current systems are built with Docker containers acting as secure gateways and proxies that integrate with any cloud compute provider and multiple frontier model providers. Your work will directly accelerate SpaceX production and development by enabling every team to move faster with trustworthy AI. 

RESPONSIBILITIES: 

• Lead the design, architecture, and implementation of secure, scalable AI platforms and proxy systems used company-wide
• Own complex platform initiatives end-to-end, including technical strategy, implementation, testing, deployment, and long-term evolution
• Drive onboarding of new frontier models, expansion of compute resources, and optimization of proxy systems for performance, security, logging, and control
• Champion adoption across SpaceX by mentoring engineers, communicating value, building shared products/prompts/skills/infrastructure, and providing hands-on support
• Act as an entrepreneurial force to identify high-value opportunities and deliver solutions that allow users to rapidly convert problems and ideas into tested software, deployed applications, and trained models on managed, reliable compute
• Develop and scale tools that mitigate business risk, such as advanced AI-powered code review, PR automation, and safety guardrails
• Define best practices for lean, effective, and secure applied AI that maximizes conversion of engineering expertise into automation and reliable data systems
• Collaborate with and influence cross-functional stakeholders, including ML researchers, security, and operations teams 

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS: 

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, computer engineering, or other engineering discipline and 5+ years of professional experience building production software; OR 7+ years of professional experience building production software in lieu of a degree
• Experience developing and operating production platforms (AI/ML infrastructure, developer platforms, or large-scale backend systems) 

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE: 

• Proven success building and scaling internal AI gateways, secure proxy systems, or MLOps platforms in a fast-paced environment
• Deep hands-on experience with Docker, Kubernetes, security architecture, and integrations across multiple cloud and frontier model providers
• Strong background in model onboarding, compute orchestration, observability, and infrastructure for high-volume AI usage
• Demonstrated ability to enable and mentor others through tools, documentation, training, and direct partnership
• Entrepreneurial track record of identifying opportunities and delivering outsized impact
• Proficiency in Python and strong experience with additional languages (Go, Java, TypeScript, Rust, etc.)
• Experience with infrastructure-as-code, CI/CD, and building highly reliable distributed systems
• Passion for AI risk mitigation, developer productivity, and turning complex engineering challenges into simple, scalable AI-powered outcomes 

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:    
    
Pay range:    
Sr. Software Engineer: $170,000.00 - $235,000.00/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 EEOCompliance@spacex.com. 

Explore around this job

Field: Technology Sub-niche: Software engineering All jobs at SpaceX Jobs in California Jobs in Sunnyvale, CA Sunnyvale city guide California state guide Santa Clara County economy

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About the role

This is a — role in the Technology field (Software engineering) at SpaceX.

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How to prepare and behave

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The city

The job is in Sunnyvale, CA. Below is what the official statistics say about living and working there.

How Sunnyvale compares. Among the 145 largest places in California, Sunnyvale is #37 by population, #12 for long commutes (#1 = fewest), #15 for household income (#1 = highest), #129 for rent (#1 = cheapest). Its county, Santa Clara County, is #1 of 58 counties for average pay ($197,043).

The place in numbers

Sunnyvale has 154,236 residents (ACS 2020–2024), about 0.4% of the population of California. It covers 22 square miles of land, which works out to roughly 6,992 people per square mile. The median age is 35.2, 7% younger than the state median (35.2 against 37.9).

Housing

The median gross rent is $3,039 a month (rent plus utilities), 49% above the state median ($3,039 against $2,036). Over a year that is 19.6% 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 $1,801,800, which is 9.7 times the median household income ($186,170); a ratio above 5 usually means buying is out of reach without savings or a second income. 43.8% of households own their home, 22% below the state average (43.8% against 55.9%). A low ownership share points to a rental-heavy market with more apartments and shorter stays.

Work and pay

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%. 72.4% 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.

Getting around

Among workers, 53.7% drive alone, 4.0% use public transit, 1.6% walk, 29.2% work from home. 9.0% of workers commute 45 minutes or more, 54% below the state average (9.0% 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.

People and education

69.3% of adults aged 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher, 87% above the state share (69.3% against 37.1%). 50.2% of residents were born outside the United States, 86% above the state share (50.2% against 27.0%). The poverty rate is 5.8%, 52% below the state rate (5.8% against 12.0%).

Climate

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.

Nearby cities to compare

Closest cities in this guide: Mountain View (3 miles, similar rent); Santa Clara (4 miles, similar rent); Los Altos (4 miles, rent 15% higher); Cupertino (5 miles, rent 15% higher). Rent differences are against Sunnyvale; use the Compare tab to put any two cities side by side.

Full guide to Sunnyvale →California guideAll jobs in Sunnyvale

Official links for Sunnyvale

• Official website of Sunnyvale: sunnyvale.ca.gov
• Census Bureau data profile for Sunnyvale
• Official website of Santa Clara County: santaclaracounty.gov
• Official state website: ca.gov
• BLS Economy at a Glance: California

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Where to live

CITY Official statistics Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year (via Census Reporter) · Data: ACS 2020–2024

Places within 50 miles (straight line) of Sunnyvale, CA that have a guide, with what living there costs. No pay estimate is shown because the title did not match one occupation.

Career paths

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 (713) Data, analytics and AI (3366) Cloud, IT and infrastructure (1040) Product management (836)

Distances

CITY Calculation (straight line) Source: U.S. Census Bureau Gazetteer (coordinates) · Data: 2024

How far Sunnyvale, CA is from the 20 largest US cities, in straight-line miles (not driving distance). Click a column to sort.

Nearby cities with open jobs (within 120 miles)

The employer

SpaceX is the employer in this listing. See all its open jobs here →

We do not hold headcount or revenue for this employer. Check its careers site and, if it is listed on a stock exchange, its public filings (SEC EDGAR search).

What it is like to work at a company (culture, schedules, benefits) is not in the source data, so we do not describe it. Read the description and ask the questions under "How to prepare".

Other open jobs at SpaceX

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Same sub-niche: Software engineering

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FAQ

What is the Sr. Software Engineer (Platform Team) job at SpaceX?

A private-sector role in technology (software engineering) listed 173 days ago. The full description is on this page and on the employer's page.

Where is this job?

Sunnyvale, CA.

How do I apply?

Use the "View this job and apply on the employer's page" button. AtiveSite does not receive applications.

How much does it pay?

The listing does not publish pay, and we could not match the title to one official occupation.

What is the cost of living there?

Median rent in Sunnyvale is $3,039 a month and median household income $186,170 (ACS 2020–2024).

How old is this listing?

It was posted on 2026-05-20 (173 days ago). Jobs older than 90 days are not shown.

Are there similar jobs?

Yes: browse software engineering jobs in California.

Sources and terms

• Job data: SpaceX careers page public feed (listing dated 2026-05-20). The job disappears from this site when it disappears from the source.
• Wages and projections: BLS OEWS (May 2025) and Employment Projections 2025–35.
• City and county figures: Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024, BEA, BLS QCEW and LAUS, NASA POWER climatology; distances from Census Gazetteer coordinates.

AtiveSite is not affiliated with or endorsed by the employer or any government agency, and does not process applications. Verify every detail with the employer before acting.

Sources

• BLS OEWS (wages and employment by occupation, May 2025)
• BLS Employment Projections 2025–35
• BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics
• BLS JOLTS
• BLS State and Metro Area Employment
• Census Bureau American Community Survey (via Census Reporter)
• BEA GDP by state and Regional Price Parities
• IRS 2026 tax adjustments
• U.S. Department of Labor, minimum wage by state
• Tax Foundation state income tax rates 2026
• USAJOBS
• USCIS
• U.S. Department of State, visas
• NASA POWER climatology
• GeoNames / Census Gazetteer (coordinates)