About the position
SpaceX's Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket (collectively referred to as Starship) represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond. Starship will be the world's most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, with the ability to carry in excess of 100 metric tons to Earth orbit. As a Software Engineer on the Starship Software team, you will be responsible for defining and building the security infrastructure that protects Starship vehicles, pads, operator UIs, and communications links from unauthorized access, data tampering, denial-of-service, and other attacks. You will work closely with the larger software team to establish and maintain secure software development practices. We are looking for people with a track record of shipping reliable software and who have a broad understanding of the security design of today's Internet, including the cryptographic primitives involved. You see the big picture, prioritize accordingly, and are comfortable with working at different levels of abstraction. Ideally, you have notable skills in one or more of the following: Secure software development life cycle, Applied cryptography, Network security, Operating system security, Secure/Authenticated boot, Incident response and adversary detection, Vulnerability research.
Responsibilities
- Design and build security infrastructure for Starship, including but not limited to: Authentication and encryption protocols, Identity management and automation, Software integrity solutions such as secure boot and code hardening, Utilizing specialized hardware including hardware security modules and cryptographic accelerators, Application level security, Backend services and automation powering network security systems.
- Own all aspects of software development, including design, testing, and integration to the mission.
- Work with counterpart engineering teams to develop and maintain launch and vehicle software, crossing all required software domains necessary to implement and verify control of the pad, ship, and booster to meet mission objectives.
- Define and lead impactful projects that enable the mission of Starship.
- Continuously improve software standards and software engineering best practices within Starship Software.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in computer science, software engineering, computer engineering, electrical engineering or other engineering discipline; OR 2+ years of professional software development experience in lieu of a degree.
- At least 1 year of project experience with C++, Python, or Rust.
Nice-to-haves
- Proven skills and knowledge of C++, Rust, or other systems programming language.
- Experience building or working with real-time embedded systems or distributed computing systems.
- Experience contributing security improvements to complex systems.
- Experience working with special purpose security hardware (cryptographic accelerators / hardware security modules).
- Experience designing fault tolerant software.
- Strong skills in debugging, performance optimization, and unit testing.
- Thorough knowledge of computer architecture and networking.
- Creative approach to first-principles problem solving.
- Ability to work independently and in a team, take initiative, and communicate effectively.
Benefits
- Base salary is just one part of your total rewards package at SpaceX.
- You may also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the form of company stock, stock options, or long-term cash awards.
- Potential discretionary bonuses and the ability to purchase additional stock at a discount through an Employee Stock Purchase Plan.
- Access to comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage.
- Access to a 401(k) retirement plan.
- Short and long-term disability insurance.
- Life insurance.
- Paid parental leave.
- Various other discounts and perks.
- Accrue 3 weeks of paid vacation.
- Eligible for 10 or more paid holidays per year.
- Exempt employees are eligible for 5 days of sick leave per year.
