Operations Engineer, Applied AI (Application Software)

The job

LIVE Employer public job feed (private-sector employer) Source: the employer's public careers feed · Data: listed 2026-07-28

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.

OPERATIONS ENGINEER, APPLIED AI (APPLICATION SOFTWARE)

As an Operations Engineer on SpaceX’s team, you will act as a key technical partner. You’ll help internal teams across different programs explore the capabilities of different platforms and design smart, effective strategies for incorporating large language models into their products and infrastructure. This hybrid role blends strong technical depth with strong interpersonal skills to empower different teams within the company to create powerful AI-powered solutions while prioritizing safety and responsible deployment.

You’ll collaborate closely with Sales, Product, and Engineering teams to support them from early exploration all the way through successful implementation. Using your engineering background, you will build practical testing approaches and create robust system designs that deliver meaningful results.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Work alongside internal teams to uncover their needs and design technical approaches that closely align with their goals
• Serve as the main technical point of contact, supporting end-to-end while coordinating with internal teams to ensure strong outcomes
• Build prototypes and proof-of-concept applications that clearly illustrate effective ways to integrate with Spok/Grok
• Advise on system-on-system architecture and support teams in developing advanced applications powered by LLMs – Large Language Models
• Keep current evolving LLM technologies, best practices, and the tools commonly used in fast-moving environments

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in a STEM or engineering discipline
• 1+ years of experience working in engineering or operations/process development

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Hands-on experience supporting cross- functional teams and a solid grasp of their fast-paced environment, limited resources, and specific pain points, specifically in engineering disciplines
• Ability to code along with a track record of developing production-level applications
• Experience with shipping real-world applications using large language models and related machine learning tools to lead cross-functional groups
• Knowledge of common LLM techniques including prompt design, evaluation methods, agent systems, and retrieval architecture
• Previous experience working with AI product design, development, integration, and/or test
• Demonstrated ability to work under pressure and deliver expeditious results across multiple parallel priorities
• Previous experience innovating process improvements, AI integrations, and AI system design in an enterprise setting
• Positive, "can-do" attitude, self-starter, and ability to work in a high-pace dynamic environment

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Must be willing to work extended hours and weekends as needed
• Must be willing to travel up to 25% of the time to visit different sites
• Ability to pass Air Force background checks for Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg
• This role requires you to be onsite. Remote and/or hybrid work will not be considered

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:

Pay Range:
Level 1: $100,000.00 - $135,000.00
Level 2: $115,000.00 - $165,000.00

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 in Washington State accrue paid sick time in compliance with state and federal law. Company shuttles are offered to employees for roundtrip travel from select Seattle locations to the SpaceX Redmond office Monday to Friday.

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: Data, analytics and AI All jobs at SpaceX Jobs in Washington Jobs in Redmond, WA Redmond city guide Washington state guide King County economy

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About the role

This is a — role in the Technology field (Data, analytics and AI) at SpaceX.

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.

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How to prepare and behave

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• Read the whole description and match your examples to its requirements; use the same words the posting uses where they are true for you.
• Research the employer before the interview: what it does, who its customers are and recent news; prepare two or three questions about the work.
• Arrive early (or log in early for a video call), dress one step above the daily dress code, and test your camera and audio beforehand.
• Answer with short stories: the situation, what you did and the result. Give numbers when you have them and never invent them.
• Be honest about gaps; say what you did to learn and how fast you can close them.
• Ask about the team, the first 90 days, how success is measured and the schedule; do not open with salary and time off.
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• Send a short thank-you message within a day, mentioning one thing you discussed.
• Have code, data work or projects you can show, and be ready to think aloud: many technical interviews test how you reason, not only the answer.

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The city

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

How Redmond compares. Among the 80 largest places in Washington, Redmond is #17 by population, #4 for college degrees (#1 = most), #77 for homeownership (#1 = highest), #6 for remote work (#1 = most). Its county, King County, is #1 of 39 counties for average pay ($132,279).

The place in numbers

Redmond has 77,353 residents (ACS 2020–2024), about 1.0% of the population of Washington. It covers 17 square miles of land, which works out to roughly 4,668 people per square mile. The median age is 35.0, 9% younger than the state median (35.0 against 38.3).

Housing

The median gross rent is $2,409 a month (rent plus utilities), 37% above the state median ($2,409 against $1,760). Over a year that is 17.8% 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 $1,167,800, which is 7.2 times the median household income ($162,560); a ratio above 5 usually means buying is out of reach without savings or a second income. 43.2% of households own their home, 32% below the state average (43.2% against 63.8%). A low ownership share points to a rental-heavy market with more apartments and shorter stays.

Work and pay

The Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metropolitan area has 2,086,210 jobs in the BLS wage survey, and the median pay across all occupations is $72,610 a year, 42% above the national median ($72,610 against $50,980). The biggest occupation groups are office and administrative support (212,900 jobs, median $59,660); business and financial operations (201,160 jobs, median $101,950); computer and mathematical (194,970 jobs, median $156,000). The area is most specialised in computer and mathematical (2.8 times) and architecture and engineering (1.4 times), where the share of workers is well above the national share. The best-paying groups with at least 5,000 jobs are management ($168,110) and computer and mathematical ($156,000). In 2026M09 the unemployment rate of King County was 4.8%. 72.1% of residents aged 16 and over are in the labour force. The city lies in King County; its jobs, pay by industry and GDP are on the county page.

Getting around

Among workers, 45.7% drive alone, 5.4% use public transit, 2.8% walk, 38.4% work from home. 9.8% of workers commute 45 minutes or more, 42% below the state average (9.8% against 16.9%). 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

75.3% of adults aged 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher, 90% above the state share (75.3% against 39.6%). 45.3% of residents were born outside the United States, 194% above the state share (45.3% against 15.4%). The poverty rate is 5.6%, 43% below the state rate (5.6% against 9.9%).

Climate

The warmest month is Aug, averaging 63°F (17.1°C), and the coolest is Dec at 34°F (1.0°C). About 1,737 mm (68 inches) of precipitation falls in a year; Nov is the wettest month (256 mm) and Jul the driest (27 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: Union Hill-Novelty Hill (4 miles, rent 6% higher); Kirkland (4 miles, similar rent); Cottage Lake (5 miles, rent 14% higher); Bellevue (6 miles, rent 7% higher). Rent differences are against Redmond; use the Compare tab to put any two cities side by side.

Full guide to Redmond →Washington guideAll jobs in Redmond

Official links for Redmond

• Census Bureau data profile for Redmond
• Official state website: wa.gov
• BLS Economy at a Glance: Washington

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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 Redmond, WA 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 (512) Software engineering (2678) Cloud, IT and infrastructure (743) Product management (570)

Distances

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

How far Redmond, WA 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

Similar jobs

Same sub-niche: Data, analytics and AI

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FAQ

What is the Operations Engineer, Applied AI (Application Software) job at SpaceX?

A private-sector role in technology (data, analytics and ai) listed 104 days ago. The full description is on this page and on the employer's page.

Where is this job?

Redmond, WA.

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 Redmond is $2,409 a month and median household income $162,560 (ACS 2020–2024).

How old is this listing?

It was posted on 2026-07-28 (104 days ago). Jobs older than 90 days are not shown.

Are there similar jobs?

Yes: browse data, analytics and ai jobs in Washington.

Sources and terms

• Job data: SpaceX careers page public feed (listing dated 2026-07-28). 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)