Application Software Engineer, Applied AI

SpaceX; Vandenberg Air Force Base Launch Facility 02 (CA); On-site; USD 125,000 - 195,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options and long-term incentives

401(k) retirement plan with company-m匹

Medical, vision, dental coverage

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Paid parental leave

Vacation and holidays

Job summary

SpaceX is seeking an Application Software Engineer, Applied AI, onsite at Vandenberg AFB Launch Facility 02. You will design, deploy, and integrate modern AI systems, including LLMs and agentic workflows, to power SpaceX products and infrastructure.

You will own the end-to-end lifecycle of AI capabilities from prototype to production, working with Product, Engineering, and Operations teams to deliver reliable, production-grade solutions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, math, or scientific discipline; OR 2+ years of professional software experience
• 1+ years of experience in full stack development
• Hands-on experience evaluating, deploying, and integrating AI models into production systems
• Proven track record of shipping real-world AI products from prototype to production

Responsibilities

• Develop AI-powered applications that accelerate SpaceX production, flight, and Starlink operations
• Incorporate large language models and agentic systems into AI-powered products
• Own end-to-end lifecycle of Applied AI capabilities from prototype to production
• Design and implement production architecture for AI-powered applications with reliability and safety
• Maintain AI evaluation frameworks and observability for quality, latency, and cost
• Stay at the frontier of LLM techniques and rapidly adopt best practices

Skills

Python

C#.NET

Go

Java

React/Angular

LLM techniques

AI model deployment

Production systems

Docker

Kubernetes

SQL databases

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering or related

2+ years software experience in lieu of degree

Tools

Kafka

PostgreSQL

SQL Server

Job description

Application Software Engineer, Applied AI

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.

APPLICATION SOFTWARE ENGINEER, APPLIED AI

The application software team is the central nervous system of SpaceX – we create mission critical applications that are used throughout SpaceX to accelerate launch vehicle production and flight as well as systems that allow Starlink to grow into a worldwide fast, reliable Internet service. We are looking for engineers who treat fellow teammates with fairness, respect, and support.

In this Applied AI role within the Application Software team, you will design, evaluate, deploy, and integrate modern AI systems—including large language models and agentic systems—that power products and infrastructure across SpaceX. You will own the end-to-end lifecycle of AI capabilities from prototype to production while partnering closely with Product, Engineering, and Operations teams. We are looking for a strong software engineer with a proven track record of delivering AI products, including hands‑on experience evaluating, deploying, and integrating AI solutions into real production systems.

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

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Develop highly reliable software solutions used across SpaceX, including AI-powered applications that accelerate production, flight, and Starlink operations
• Create new applications that improve how SpaceX operates by incorporating modern large language models, agentic systems, and other AI capabilities
• Own the full lifecycle of Applied AI systems: design, evaluation, deployment, monitoring, and iteration from prototype to production
• Deep dive into users’ problems to uncover high-leverage AI opportunities and deliver efficient, production-grade solutions
• Architect production systems for agentic workflows, tool‑use, multi‑agent orchestration, advanced retrieval, and long-context applications that prioritize reliability, safety, and responsible deployment
• Build and maintain rigorous evaluation frameworks (LLM‑as‑judge, automated benchmarks, online evaluation) and production observability/monitoring for AI quality, safety, latency, and cost
• Stay at the frontier of LLM techniques and rapidly incorporate emerging best practices into production systems across SpaceX programs

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:

• Hands‑on experience evaluating, deploying, and integrating AI models into production systems
• Proven track record of delivering (or significantly contributing to) end-to-end AI products or production AI‑powered features
• Proven track record of shipping real-world AI products from prototype through production deployment and iterationDeep hands‑on experience with modern LLM techniques: agentic systems, tool‑use / function calling, multi‑agent orchestration, advanced retrieval architectures, fine‑tuning, and structured outputs
• Experience building production evaluation systems (LLM‑as‑judge, automated eval harnesses, A/B testing, red‑teaming) and AI observability/monitoring (tracing, quality metrics, safety, cost)
• Experience designing and implementing production architecture for AI‑powered applications with strong emphasis on reliability, safety, and responsible deployment
• Previous experience in AI product design, development, integration, testing, and productionization
• Strong software engineering foundation with expertise in designing production systems (including AI‑powered and system‑to‑system architectures) and a track record of writing clean, maintainable code
• Programming experience in Python, C#.NET, Go, Scala, Java, or similar
• Production experience with Docker, Kubernetes, and modern data streaming (Kafka or similar)
• Front‑end experience (Angular, React, or similar) and database experience (PostgreSQL, SQL Server, or similar)
• Demonstrated ability to stay current with rapidly evolving AI technologies and best practices
• Ability to work under pressure and deliver results across multiple parallel priorities in a fast‑paced, high‑reliability environment

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• You may be asked to work extended hours/weekends dependent on launch cadence
• This role requires you to be onsite. Remote and/or hybrid work will not be considered
• Ability to pass Air Force background check for Vandenberg

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:
Pay Range:
Level 1: $125,000.00 - $160,000.00
Level 2: $145,000.00 - $195,000.00

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 accrue paid sick leave pursuant to Company policy which satisfies or exceeds the accrual, carryover, and use requirements of the law.

• 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 [e-mail] .

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

As set forth in SpaceX’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A \"disabled veteran\" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service‑connected disability.

A \"recently separated veteran\" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An \"active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran\" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An \"Armed forces service medal veteran\" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.