Application Software Engineer, Applied AI

Overview

The application software team is the central nervous system of SpaceX – we create mission-critical applications that are used throughout SpaceX to accelerate launch vehicle production and flight as well as systems that allow Starlink to grow into a worldwide fast, reliable Internet service.

In this Applied AI role within the Application Software team, you will design, evaluate, deploy, and integrate modern AI systems—including large language models and agentic systems—that power products and infrastructure across SpaceX. You will own the end-to-end lifecycle of AI capabilities from prototype to production while partnering closely with Product, Engineering, and Operations teams.

Responsibilities

• Develop highly reliable software solutions used across SpaceX, including AI-powered applications that accelerate production, flight, and Starlink operations
• Create new applications that improve how SpaceX operates by incorporating modern large language models, agentic systems, and other AI capabilities
• Own the full lifecycle of Applied AI systems: design, evaluation, deployment, monitoring, and iteration from prototype to production
• Deep dive into users' problems to uncover high-leverage AI opportunities and deliver efficient, production-grade solutions
• Architect production systems for agentic workflows, tool-use, multi-agent orchestration, advanced retrieval, and long-context applications that prioritize reliability, safety, and responsible deployment
• Build and maintain rigorous evaluation frameworks (LLM-as-judge, automated benchmarks, online evaluation) and production observability/monitoring for AI quality, safety, latency, and cost
• Stay at the frontier of LLM techniques and rapidly incorporate emerging best practices into production systems across SpaceX programs

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, math, or scientific discipline; OR 2+ years of professional experience building software in lieu of a degree
• 1+ years of experience in full stack development

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Hands-on experience evaluating, deploying, and integrating AI models into production systems
• Proven track record of shipping real-world AI products from prototype through production deployment and iteration
• Deep hands-on experience with modern LLM techniques: agentic systems, tool-use / function calling, multi-agent orchestration, advanced retrieval architectures, fine-tuning, and structured outputs
• Experience building production evaluation systems (LLM-as-judge, automated eval harnesses, A/B testing, red-teaming) and AI observability/monitoring (tracing, quality metrics, safety, cost)
• Experience designing and implementing production architecture for AI-powered applications with strong emphasis on reliability, safety, and responsible deployment
• Programming experience in Python, C#.NET, Go, Scala, Java, or similar
• Production experience with Docker, Kubernetes, and modern data streaming (Kafka or similar)
• Front-end experience (Angular, React, or similar) and database experience (PostgreSQL, SQL Server, or similar)

Additional Requirements

• Must be available to work extended hours/weekends dependent on launch cadence
• Must be onsite; remote and/or hybrid work will not be considered
• Ability to pass Air Force background check for Vandenberg
• ITAR requirement: Must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, refugee, or asylee