IT Storage Engineer — Exabyte-Scale Mission-Critical Ops

Spacex; Hawthorne (CA); Hybrid; USD 135,000 - 175,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Long-term incentives via stock

401(k) retirement plan

Medical, vision and dental coverage

Paid parental leave

Vacation and holidays

Job summary

SpaceX in Hawthorne, CA is hiring an IT Storage Engineer to design, implement, and operate enterprise storage across multiple tiers for mission-critical workloads. You will manage NetApp, Pure, Vast, and HPE Alletra systems, optimize performance, and collaborate with compute, networking, and application teams.

The role emphasizes automation, scripting in Python/PowerShell/Ansible, and ensuring DR readiness, security, and scalable storage for simulation and telemetry workloads.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in STEM with 3+ years of IT storage engineering experience; or 5+ years without a degree.
• Experience with enterprise storage platforms: NetApp, Pure Storage, Vast, HPE Alletra.
• Strong understanding of storage protocols: NFS, CIFS/SMB, iSCSI, and NVMe over TCP.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and maintain storage infrastructure across tiers (high-performance, capacity, archive, backup/recovery, DR).
• Architect and operate high-throughput, low-latency storage for simulation, telemetry, and test data processing.
• Administer NetApp, Pure, Vast, and HPE Alletra storage systems.
• Monitor and troubleshoot storage performance across hardware, transport (RDMA), and protocol layers.

Skills

Storage engineering

Communication skills

Team collaboration

Automation scripting

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering or STEM

5+ years in lieu of degree

Tools

NetApp

Pure Storage

Vast

HPE Alletra

NFS

CIFS/SMB

iSCSI

NVMe over TCP

Python

PowerShell

Ansible

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 ofenabling human life on Mars.

IT STORAGE ENGINEER

SpaceX is seeking an experienced storage engineer with deep expertise in enterprise storage platforms. This role is ideal for someone who thrives in performance-critical settings and is eager to build storage infrastructure supporting mission-critical workloads like simulation, telemetry, and test data processing.

The ideal candidate will possess knowledge of both Pure and NetApp storage systems running iSCSI with hands-on keyboard as well as on hardware in an on-premises environment.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Design, implement, and maintain storage infrastructure across multiple tiers: high-performance, capacity, archive, backup/recovery, and disaster recovery.
• Architect and operate high-throughput, low-latency storage and support exabyte scale file systems (e.g., VAST,) for simulation, telemetry, and high-concurrency workloads.
• Administer storage systems including NetApp, Pure FlashArray/FlashBlade, Vast, and HPE Alletra.
• Monitor and troubleshoot storage performance across the full stack: hardware, transport (RDMA), and protocol layers.
• Troubleshoot complex issues that require an understanding of the interaction of various protocols and operating systems.
• Manage storage access, data permissions, and access controls across different protocols and operating systems.
• Develop automation and tooling for monitoring, capacity utilization and planning, configuration management, and alerting.
• Define and enforce standards for storage deployment, performance tuning, and operational management.
• Collaborate with compute, networking, and application teams to align storage strategies with system architecture and workload requirements.
• Participate in scheduled maintenance, on-call rotation, and occasional physical installation of hardware.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, computer engineering, or other STEM discipline and 3+ years of professional IT storage engineering experience; OR 5+ years of IT storage engineering experience in lieu of a degree.
• Experience with enterprise storage platforms: NetApp, Pure Storage, Vast, HPE Alletra.
• Strong understanding of storage protocols: NFS, CIFS/SMB, iSCSI, and NVMe over TCP.

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Experience with client and server hardware/software, monitoring tools, enterprise networking, and virtualization.
• Mid-level experience with DFS administration.
• High level of network knowledge.
• Experience automating infrastructure with Python, PowerShell, or Ansible.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; able to explain complex designs in clear terms.
• Experience collaborating with virtualization teams as an infrastructure engineer.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Must be willing to work extended hours and weekends as needed.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:

Pay Range:
Level 3: $135,000.00 - $175,000.00

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] .

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