Mission Integration Engineer, Network and Infrastructure (Starshield)

Starshield leverages SpaceX’s Starlink technology and launch capability to support national security efforts. While Starlink is designed for consumer and commercial use, Starshield is designed for government use, with an initial focus on earth observation, communications, and hosted payloads.

As a member of our Mission Management team, you will help tackle new technical problems from initial requirements verification through rapid prototyping, integrated test, and operational deployment. You’ll contribute to the performance and execution of satellite programs while specifically focusing on the ground systems and compute infrastructure that drive, manage, and provide user insight into those programs. You will work to shape customer requirements that maximally leverage SpaceX’s capabilities, to drive design choices and work with internal and external stakeholders to drive execution. This work will cover a number of technical disciplines including the planning and deployment of traditional and dedicated compute infrastructure, carrier-grade networking and the secure implementation and execution of each of these discipline areas. Our ideal candidate is a self-starter and is hungry to do work that matters.  

• →Own the architecture design, development, and deployment of critical infrastructure for government satellite programs and secure compute projects.
• →Work as the primary customer interface for coordinating and deploying ground infrastructure.
• →Manage and expand network interconnections, network co-location sites, points of presence (POPs), and satellite ground stations.
• →Manage network infrastructure and deployments to classified data centers.
• →Collaborate with customers, and internal engineering resources to improve the Starshield network design.

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, electrical engineering, or other engineering discipline.
• 2+ years of networking experience.
• Professional Layer-1 experience (e.g. transport, DWDM, optical fiber, circuit troubleshooting, activations, etc.).
• Experience bringing up switches, routers, firewalls and/or servers.

• Deep understanding of service provider networks including but not limited to:
• Connectivity (Ethernet, IPv4, IPv6 and MPLS)
• Routing (BGP, OSPF, IS-IS)
• Switching and routing
• Internet services (subscriber provisioning, BRAS, DNS, DHCP, NTP)
• Experience with physical troubleshooting of fiber & circuits.
• Familiarity with networking protocols and the OSI Model.
• Experience with hardware deployments in classified environments.
• Demonstrated success with projects across multiple technical and non-technical disciplines.

• Active Top Secret or Top Secret SCI clearance preferred. Must be willing to pursue a clearance if not already cleared. Note that 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.
• Must be available to work extended hours and/or weekends as needed to support critical milestones or operations shifts.
• Must pass DoD level background checks for entry to various government facilities.
• Willingness to travel (up to 25%).

• To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.  

SpaceX is an Equal Opportunity Employer; 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/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

Applicants wishing to view a copy of SpaceX’s Affirmative Action Plan for veterans and individuals with disabilities, or applicants requiring reasonable accommodation to the application/interview process should reach out to EEOCompliance@spacex.com.