Software Engineer, Collision Avoidance (Starshield)

About the role

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.

SOFTWARE ENGINEER, COLLISION AVOIDANCE (STARSHIELD)

Starshield leverages SpaceX’s Starlink technology and launch capability to support national security efforts. While Starlink is designed for consumer and commercial use, Starshield is designed for government use, with an initial focus on earth observation, communications, and hosted payloads.

As a software engineer working in Starshield’s GNC (Guidance, Navigation, and Control) organization, you will use your distributed systems knowledge to build mission-critical systems that keep low-earth orbit safe. You’ll work on payload management, collision avoidance, and orbital prediction tools for the large spacecraft constellations, and the analysis pipelines that prove those systems are working for our fleet.

Our software engineers are responsible for the complete lifecycle of the software they create, including development, testing, and support. We look for engineers who love solving problems and seek to make an impact on an inspiring mission. As we expand this team, we're looking for versatile, motivated, and collaborative engineers.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

- Develop highly reliable and available software systems for managing thousands of satellites in low-earth orbit

- Develop prototypes to prove out key design concepts and quantify technical constraints

- Collaborate with other engineers to plan and organize the development of our products

- See your software through from start to finish: from figuring out the core needs to prototyping, developing, and testing; to rollout and beyond

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

- Bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering, math, or science discipline; or 3+ years of professional experience in software development in lieu of a degree

- 1+ year of professional experience in software development

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

- Experience with Python, C++, or a similar object-oriented programming language

- Experience with distributed systems or large-scale consumer internet systems

- Production experience with containerization technologies (e.g. Docker, Kubernetes)

- Understanding of version control, testing, continuous integration, build, deployment, and monitoring

- Experience with profiling and improving application performance

- Experience with relational databases (PostgreSQL, CockroachDB, or similar)

- Ability to work independently and in a team, take initiative, and communicate effectively

- Previous experience with satellites or spacecraft systems is a plus

- Strong background in math and physics