Senior Cyber Defense Engineer – Starshield

SpaceX; El Segundo, Washington (CA, District of Columbia); On-site; USD 170,000 - 265,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Medical, vision, dental

401(k) retirement plan

Disability and life insurance

Parental leave

3 weeks paid vacation + 10+ holidays

Job summary

SpaceX is seeking a Sr. Cybersecurity Engineer (Starshield) in California to lead threat detection, incident response, and vulnerability discovery for the Starshield program.

You will run red-team exercises, develop countermeasures, and drive improvements across security operations while collaborating with engineers and incident teams. The role requires a Top Secret level clearance, willingness to work extended hours, and a strong background in networks, large-scale systems, and blue/green

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, computer engineering, computer security, or a similar field and 5+ years in cybersecurity for active production systems; OR 7+ years in cybersecurity for active production systems.
• Experience implementing systems for adversary detection and incident response.

Responsibilities

• Be prepared for immediate response to active threats against our systems.
• Implement Starshield's cyber defense strategy and develop countermeasures.
• Conduct red-team style exercises to uncover vulnerabilities and practice attack responses.
• Improve incident discovery and response with internal security tools.
• Collaborate across teams to deliver security features and improve detection.

Skills

Cybersecurity

Incident response

Vulnerability triage

Blue Team

Red Team

Clear communication

Ambiguity tolerance

Security engineering

Education

Bachelor’s degree in CS / CE / security

Advanced degree preferred

Job description

SpaceX is seeking a Sr. Cybersecurity Engineer (Starshield) in California to lead threat detection, incident response, and vulnerability discovery for the Starshield program.

You will run red-team exercises, develop countermeasures, and drive improvements across security operations while collaborating with engineers and incident teams. The role requires a Top Secret level clearance, willingness to work extended hours, and a strong background in networks, large-scale systems, and blue/green