Site Reliability Engineer, AI Infrastructure (Starshield)
About this role
Scaling and securing the massive GPU and CPU infrastructure required to process critical national security intelligence is the core challenge for the site reliability engineer joining the Starshield team at SpaceX. Operating out of Palo Alto, California, the selected engineer will design, deploy, and maintain high-scale AI clusters capable of handling demanding workloads for the United States government. Responsibilities span across site reliability engineering, developer operations, and GPU platform management, involving the automation of on-premise compute resources and collaboration across multidisciplinary engineering groups.
Candidates applying for this position will handle hardware and virtualized environments, manage bare-metal GPU as a service for external customers, and build robust automation tooling for Kubernetes and operating systems. Ideal candidates bring a strong foundation in Linux, infrastructure-as-code tools like Terraform or Ansible, and programming capabilities in languages such as Python, C++, or Go. The role demands resilience, technical precision, and the capability to navigate rigorous security clearance requirements while supporting critical aerospace and defense systems.
What you will do
- Manage GPU and CPU infrastructure deployments to Top Secret data centers.
- Provide operational support for GPU as a service to external customers on bare metal hardware and virtualized platforms.
- Design, validate, and productize infrastructure solutions for AI clusters scaling past 100,000 GPUs.
- Develop automation to deploy and manage on-premise Kubernetes and AI clusters alongside operating systems.
- Deploy and maintain core infrastructure components including distributed storage, databases, and monitoring systems.
- Partner closely with AI engineers to build scalable, operable, and maintainable software products.
- Oversee the complete lifecycle of services from initial design and deployment through operation and refinement.
- Monitor supporting systems and implement alerting to maintain high availability and reliability.
What you need
- Hold a bachelor's degree in computer science, information systems, IT, or an engineering discipline with at least 1 year of professional site reliability engineering or DevOps experience, or possess 3+ years of professional SRE or DevOps experience in lieu of a degree.
- Demonstrate at least 1 year of professional experience working with Linux operating systems.
- Bring practical experience with infrastructure tools such as Terraform or Ansible.
- Utilize containerization technologies including OCI containers and Kubernetes.
- Write scripts using languages like Bash or Python.
- Demonstrate software development experience in Python, C++, or Go.
- Successfully obtain and maintain a Top Secret Security Clearance as a condition of employment.
Nice to have
- 1+ years of experience with Python and Python-based development frameworks
- Experience managing Kubernetes clusters rather than just utilizing them
- Understanding of relevant build technologies such as Bazel and Makefiles
- Experience using NVIDIA GPU deployment stacks
- Active Top Secret, Top Secret SCI, or DOE Level Q clearance
Benefits
- Comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage
- 401(k) retirement plan
- Short and long-term disability insurance and life insurance
- Paid parental leave
- 3 weeks of paid vacation and 10 or more paid holidays per year
- Long-term incentives in the form of company stock or cash awards, plus an Employee Stock Purchase Plan
Skills and tech stack
Questions candidates ask
What is the pay range for this role?
Level 1 base salary ranges from $125,000.00 to $160,000.00, while Level 2 ranges from $145,000.00 to $195,000.00. Your actual level and base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on job-related knowledge and skills, education, and experience.
Are there additional financial incentives for security clearances?
Those with an active clearance will receive a 10% differential, up to an additional $20,000 annually, once officially briefed into a classified program.
What are the working hour expectations?
Employees must be willing to work extended hours and weekends as needed. You must also be willing to travel domestically and globally in the future when needed.
Is a security clearance required immediately upon hire?
While the clearance may not be immediately necessary upon hire, we encourage you to initiate the application process promptly upon accepting this offer. Your ability to secure the necessary clearance is essential for fulfilling key responsibilities of the role.