Site Reliability Engineer (Starlink)

Spacex; Redmond; On-site; AUD 201,000 - 287,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Long-term incentives

Bonuses

Stock Purchase Plan

Medical, Vision & Dental

401(k) plan

Disability insurance

Life insurance

Parental leave

Job summary

SpaceX is seeking a Site Reliability Engineer for the Starlink program. You will own and improve distributed systems, enhance deployment, monitoring, and multi-region operations while collaborating with engineers across programs to deliver scalable, maintainable services.

The role emphasizes solving complex performance bottlenecks, CI/CD practices, and robust Linux-based operations. Prior space or aerospace experience is not required, but strong problem solving and teamwork are essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information systems/IT, or an engineering discipline and 1+ years of professional experience in systems administration, site reliability engineering, or DevOps; OR 3+ years of professional experience in systems administration, site reliability engineering, or DevOps in lieu of a degree
• 1+ years of professional experience with Linux operating systems

Responsibilities

• Upgrade existing distributed systems to become sharded and geo-redundant in multiple data centers
• Advance existing deployment, monitoring, and alerting infrastructure to support a multi-region environment
• Manage petabyte scale bare metal compute clusters
• Closely collaborate with engineers across all programs to create highly operable, scalable, and maintainable products
• Engage throughout the whole software development lifecycle of services -- from inception to design, deployment, operation, and iterative refinement
• Focus on performance bottlenecks and performance improvement techniques

Skills

Linux

Python

Kubernetes

Istio

Terraform

Ansible

CI/CD

Networking (TCP/IP)

Monitoring/Observability

Software development

Education

Bachelor’s degree in computer science or engineering

Tools

Kubernetes

Istio

Terraform

Ansible

Git

Job description

the company 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 the company is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal ofenabling human life on Mars.

SITE RELIABILITY ENGINEER (STARLINK)

At the company we’re leveraging our experience in building rockets and spacecraft to deploy Starlink, the world’s most advanced broadband internet system. Starlink is the world’s largest satellite constellation and is providing fast, reliable internet to 9M+ users worldwide. We design, build, test, and operate all parts of the system – thousands of satellites, consumer receivers that allow users to connect within minutes of unboxing, and the software that brings it all together. We’ve only begun to scratch the surface of Starlink’s potential global impact and are looking for the world’s best engineers to help maximize Starlink’s utility for communities and businesses around the globe.

As a Site Reliability Engineer on the Starlink program, you will be solving challenges that improve our ability to fully utilize the hardware we have deployed. Our goal is to provide customers with the best possible satellite internet experience, often providing under-served communities with affordable, life-changing broadband internet access.

Aerospace experience is not required for success here - rather, we look for smart, motivated, and collaborative site reliability engineers who love solving problems and want to make an impact on a truly inspiring mission. You will have full ownership of challenging problems, working with a team of enthusiastic engineers to design and produce solutions that enable the company to move towards our goals at a rapid pace. The success of the missions at the company depends on the software that you and your team produce.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Upgrade existing distributed systems to become sharded and geo-redundant in multiple data centers

• Advance existing deployment, monitoring, and alerting infrastructure to support a multi-region environment

• Manage petabyte scale bare metal compute clusters

• Closely collaborate with engineers across all programs to create highly operable, scalable, and maintainable products

• Engage throughout the whole software development lifecycle of services -- from inception to design, deployment, operation, and iterative refinement

• Focus on performance bottlenecks and performance improvement techniques

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information systems/IT, or an engineering discipline and 1+ years of professional experience in systems administration, site reliability engineering, or DevOps; OR 3+ years of professional experience in systems administration, site reliability engineering, or DevOps in lieu of a degree

• 1+ years of professional experience with Linux operating systems

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• 1+ years of experience with Python and Python-based development frameworks

• Experience with Kubernetes and Istio for on-premise deployment

• Experience troubleshooting hardware and network-layer issues

• Programming experience in Python, C#, Java, Scala,Goor similar languages

• Good understanding of version control, testing, continuous integration, build, deployment and monitoring

• Strong understanding of virtualization and hypervisor technologies

• Knowledge of Linux boot process and systems configuration

• Deep understanding of testing, continuous integration, build, deployment & continuous monitoring

• Experience with automatically managing dozens, hundreds, or thousands of servers (eg: Terraform or Ansible)

• Strong networking knowledge of TCP/IP

• Excellent communications skills with the ability to communicate with customers, peers, management etc. in both formal and informal situations

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Willing to work extended hours and weekends when needed

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:

Pay Range:Level 1: $140,000.00 - $165,000.00Level 2: $160,000.00 - $200,000.00

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 the company. 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.

the company is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with the company 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.

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