Job brief: Principal Software Engineer, Continuous Integration (Starship)

What JoRoute checked · Checked by JoRoute

• Listed on SpaceX's own job board. JoRoute does not take listings from job ads or recruiters.
• First seen by JoRoute 2026-11-04 (4 days ago); last confirmed on the board 2026-11-08.
• The apply link opens boards.greenhouse.io, the address SpaceX's board gives for this job.
• No other listing with this title and place on this board in the last 90 days.
• No layoff notices (WARN) under this name in the state files JoRoute reads.

What the listing says · Employer's own words, not checked

• Pay: $200,000 to $285,000 a year
• Job type: Not stated
• Where: Hawthorne, CA
• Posted: 2026-05-02 · over 60 days ago

What the job asks · Employer's own words, not checked

Level: Lead / staff. The title says "Principal".

Must have

• Aerospace experience is not required to be successful here - rather we look for smart, motivated, collaborative engineers who love solving problems and want to be a force multipli…
• 7+ years of software engineering experience and a Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, math, or STEM discipline;
• OR 9+ years of professional experience in software development in lieu of a degree
• Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S.
• § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S.

Conditions

• Willing to work long hours and weekends as needed
• You may also accrue 3 weeks of paid vacation and will be eligible for 10 or more paid holidays per year.
• employment with SpaceX is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/…

Main duties

• Invent tools and processes which enable fast and correct software development.
• Hands-on integration and troubleshooting across the entire Starship software stack.
• Collaborate with counterpart teams to design, maintain, and continuously improve a dedicated pool of on-premises compute.
• Identify areas for improvement and create innovative solutions that enable the software team to tackle all challenges facing the Starship program as we devel…
• 7+ years of software engineering experience and a Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, math, or STEM discipline; OR 9+ years of professional e…

Lines copied from the posting, not rewritten. "Preferred" or "nice to have" items are not listed as must-haves.

How it compares · Compared by JoRoute from listings

• Typical listed pay for software engineer jobs in California: $204k a year (903 listings, 46 employers). This listing is 19% higher.
• Across SpaceX's 2,900 open listings, 60% of those with a posting date were first posted more than 60 days ago. How SpaceX hires

What nobody outside the employer knows · Not known

• Whether the role is already filled or on hold: employers often leave listings up.
• How many people applied, and who reads the applications.
• Where in the published range an offer would land.

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1. Is this role still open, and when do you hope to fill it?
2. What are the interview steps, and when should I expect to hear back?

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