Software Engineer, Components Test

About the role

The Starshield team at SpaceX designs and validates hardware for government satellite missions, including earth observation, communications, and other national security applications. This role sits inside the test organization and focuses on the software and infrastructure used to test flight components for performance and reliability in demanding environments. The work is the automation that turns a candidate component into a decision: run the right test, capture the right data, and connect the result back to the hardware and the production record. That means the job is a blend of software engineering, embedded electronics, and instrumentation, and the output has real consequences. A component that passes these tests is trusted to fly, so the team moves fast but owns its reliability. The team builds modular test systems from the ground up, verifies engineering and manufacturing designs with the same tooling, and ships solutions that other engineers can trust without second-guessing. You will spend your days inside the testing loop, not at the edge of it: you will design, build, and operate the software that validates flight components under real conditions, and you will stay in the work from lab prototype to production use.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Build modular, Python-driven automation and infrastructure that verifies manufacturing and engineering designs.
• Create systems that connect software, flight hardware, and production documentation so every test result shares one trusted data set.
• Develop custom electronics and interfaces that solve manufacturing problems on the floor.
• Write the algorithms that turn raw test data into pass-or-fail findings against acceptance values.
• Troubleshoot automation systems, and work with hardware and production teams to pin down root causes.
• Hold the schedule and the review cadence for new test systems so they reach production reliably.
• Track time, run the review, and confirm each test system is ready before it earns a place in production.
• Keep documentation and handoffs clean so another engineer can pick up the work without a lesson.
• Engage with test campaigns on the floor: when automation misbehaves, your presence at the hardware matters as much as your code.

Requirements

• Bachelor degree in engineering, computer science, math, or another STEM field, OR at least 2 years of professional software development experience.
• Proficiency in Python, C, or C++, or equivalent full-stack software development experience.
• ITAR eligibility: must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, refugee, or asylee.

Nice to have

• Experience working on both Linux and Windows systems.
• Comfort using version control, configuration management, agile practices, and continuous integration.
• Ability to wrap automation that leads to better manufacturing efficiency and yield.
• Understanding of feedback loops, signals, and numerical methods.
• Familiarity with TCP, CAN, SPI, I2C, USB, GPIB, VISA, VLAN, and Modbus interfaces.
• Experience using lab instrumentation, fluid or electrical test systems, and high-power equipment.
• Embedded software development for custom hardware.
• Willingness to shadow hardware tests in person and learn the physical side of what your code steers.

Skills & tools

• Python, C, C++
• Linux, Windows
• Version control, CI/CD
• Digital and analog communication interfaces

Practical notes

• Compensation is posted by level: Level 1 ($125,000 - $150,000) and Level 2 ($145,000 - $175,000).
• Compensation may include stock, bonuses, and an Employee Stock Purchase Plan.
• Benefits include medical, dental, vision, a 401(k), life insurance, disability insurance, paid parental leave, 3 weeks of vacation, and 10+ holidays.
• Extended hours and weekend work are expected when test campaigns demand it.
• Missions that require a security clearance carry related requirements.

About the company

Based in Starbase, Texas, a company pursues work in spaceflight, telecom, and artificial intelligence. A unit handles rocket launches, leading yearly orbital counts beyond other national and commercial teams. Another unit runs Starlink, a satellite communications firm. A third area, through SpaceXAI, advances Grok and AI integration with X, while managing data center operations. Roles often cross these paths. Candidates with engineering, software, or operations backgrounds may find chances to join projects that span launch, connectivity, and machine learning efforts in this Texas-based enterprise.