Job brief: Principal RFIC Engineer (Starshield Silicon)

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 (2 days ago); last confirmed on the board 2026-11-06.
• 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: $210,000 to $340,000 a year
• Job type: Not stated
• Where: Hawthorne, CA · Irvine, CA
• Posted: 2026-08-28 · over 60 days ago

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

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

Must have

• Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or computer science
• 8+ years of professional RF integrated circuit experience
• Master's degree or PhD in electrical engineering or computer engineering with an emphasis in RF/analog/mixed-signal integrated circuit design
• An active clearance may provide the opportunity for you to work on sensitive SpaceX missions; if so, you will be subject to pre-employment drug and random drug and alcohol testing
• Those with an active clearance will receive a 10% differential, up to an additional $20,000 annually, once officially briefed into a classified program.
• Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S.

Conditions

• Ability to work long hours and weekends as necessary to support critical milestones
• Willingness to travel for off-site testing
• 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

• Design, simulate and model RF/analog/mixed-signal circuits and systems
• Derive specifications for the RFIC subsystems and circuits
• Develop analog/mixed-signal/RF/microwave circuits in SiGe, GaAs, GaN, or CMOS processes
• Work with system architects, modem/DSP and ASIC engineers to partition functions between hardware and software domains
• Perform IC floor planning and layout

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 engineer jobs in California: $181k a year (2,177 listings, 74 employers). This listing is 52% higher.
• Across SpaceX's 2,895 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.

Ask before you apply

1. Is this role still open, and when do you hope to fill it?
2. Which of the listed places is this role based in?
3. What are the interview steps, and when should I expect to hear back?

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