Sr. Software Engineer, AI Infrastructure (Starshield)
About this role
Engineers who thrive on building large-scale infrastructure for national security missions will find a strong fit within the Starshield team at SpaceX. Operating out of Redmond, WA, the group focuses on designing and scaling the software and GPU hardware that support the government satellite constellation.
The incoming senior engineer will directly shape GPU platforms, site reliability, and developer operations for massive compute environments. Responsibilities include deploying on-premise Kubernetes clusters, managing bare-metal GPU infrastructure, and collaborating closely with artificial intelligence teams to maintain system availability.
What you will do
- Manage GPU and CPU infrastructure deployments inside Top Secret data centers.
- Provide support for GPU-as-a-service configurations on bare-metal and virtualized platforms for external customers.
- Design, validate, and productize infrastructure solutions capable of supporting clusters with over 100,000 GPUs.
- Develop automation workflows to deploy and manage on-premise Kubernetes and artificial intelligence clusters alongside operating systems.
- Deploy and administer core infrastructure elements including databases, monitoring systems, and distributed storage.
- Collaborate directly with artificial intelligence engineers to build scalable and maintainable software products.
- Monitor supporting systems continuously to guarantee high availability and address potential performance bottlenecks.
- Mentor junior team members and guide the engineering group toward technical excellence.
What you need
- Hold a bachelor's degree in computer science, information systems, IT, or an engineering discipline with at least five years of professional Linux experience, or possess seven years of equivalent professional experience in software, DevOps, or site reliability engineering.
- Demonstrate a minimum of five years of hands-on experience working with Kubernetes.
- Show at least five years of professional background managing Linux operating systems.
- Bring practical experience utilizing infrastructure management tools such as Terraform or Ansible.
- Utilize containerization technologies including OCI containers and Kubernetes in daily work.
- Demonstrate scripting proficiency in languages like Bash or Python, alongside development experience in Python, C++, or Go.
Nice to have
- Five or more years of experience focused on Python and Python-based development frameworks.
- Experience managing Kubernetes clusters rather than solely utilizing them.
- Familiarity with the Linux boot process and system configuration parameters.
- Understanding of build technologies such as Bazel and Makefiles along with distributed databases.
- Strong networking knowledge covering TCP/IP protocols and NVIDIA GPU deployment stacks.
Benefits
- Comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage
- 401(k) retirement plan access
- Short and long-term disability insurance and life insurance
- Paid parental leave
- Company stock or long-term cash awards, discretionary bonuses, and an Employee Stock Purchase Plan
- Paid vacation accrual of 3 weeks per year, 10 or more paid holidays, and company shuttles from select Seattle locations
Skills and tech stack
Questions candidates ask
What is the salary range for this role?
The base salary range spans from $165,000.00 to $270,000.00 for Level 3. Actual compensation is determined on a case-by-case basis based on job-related skills, education, and experience.
What are the physical location and travel expectations?
The position is based in Redmond, WA. Employees must be willing to work extended hours and weekends as needed, along with potential domestic and global travel in the future.
Are there security clearance requirements?
This position requires successfully obtaining and maintaining a Top Secret Security Clearance as a condition of employment. Employees with an active clearance receive a 10 percent differential up to an additional $20,000 annually once briefed into a classified program.
What transportation options are available to the office?
Company shuttles are offered to employees for roundtrip travel from select Seattle locations to the SpaceX Redmond office Monday through Friday.